Edmen Shahbazyan out to prove experience, maturity have 'leveled up'
Edmen Shahbazyan finds himself in a familiar place ahead of UFC Fight Night 278. Shahbazyan (26-7 MMA, 14-4 UFC) draws top-five ranked middleweight Brendan Allen (26-7 MMA, 14-4 UFC) on June 6 from the Meta APEX in Las Vegas ( Paramount+ ). Once undefeated and touted as a future champion, Shahbazyan faced some stumbles along the way.
He dropped three straight fights when he was matched up with the upper echelon of the division but now finds himself back on the title path after three wins in a row. "I feel like my experience, first of all, my maturity in this sport, and just the work I've been putting inside of fight camps or outside of fight camps," Shahbazyan told MMA Junkie. "Just trying to level up my game, get better, and I think I've made a lot of improvements.
I think it's perfect timing. It's going to be good. My experience and my maturity, I think, has leveled up, and I'll show it on June 6.
" Shahbazyan has been in camp with the red-hot Xtreme Couture team, which saw Sean Strickland upset Khamzat Chimaev to claim the middleweight title at UFC 328, and Francis Ngannou knock out Philipe Lins at MVP MMA 1 this past Saturday. Going through the ebbs and flows makes Shahbazyan confident that he's ready for a challenge like Allen. "I'm 28 years old, I have a lot of experience in the UFC now, and I think it's just right timing right now," Shahbazyan said.
This article originally appeared on MMA Junkie: UFC's Edmen Shahbazyan out to prove he's 'leveled up'