Derek Brunson vs. Edmen Shahbazyan - 8/1/20 UFC Fight Night 173 Pick and Prediction
Photo by Gary A. Vasquez-USA TODAY Sports
Edmen Shahbazyan vs. Derek Brunson
Saturday, August 1, 2020 at 10:00 PM (UFC APEX)
The Line: Edmen Shahbazyan -307 / Derek Brunson +257 Click Here for the Latest Odds
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Derek Brunson and Edmen Shahbazyan face off in a middleweight showdown in the main event of UFC Fight Night 173 at the UFC Apex, in Las Vegas Nevada. Brunson is currently ranked eighth in the division while Shahbazyan is currently ranked ninth.
Derek Brunson has found a lot of success during his career and coming into this fight he has a 20-7 record. Over his last eight fights, Brunson has won four fights, including each of his last two fights. Brunson’s last fight came in August of 2019 against Ian Heinisch. In that fight, Brunson outstruck Heinisch 81-58 and had two takedowns which was enough to come away with the unanimous decision. Brunson is a power puncher who can knock out just about anyone.
Brunson is averaging 3.39 significant strikes per minute while absorbing 2.91 significant strikes per minute. Brunson is also averaging 2.80 successful takedowns every 15 minutes and 0.5 submission attempts every 15 minutes. Brunson is also strong against the takedown stopping 100 percent of his opponents' attempts.
Edmen “The Golden Boy” Shahbazyan comes into this fight with an 11-0 record overall and since coming into the UFC, he has a 4-0 record. Shahbazyan’s last fight came against Brad Tavares in November of 2019. In that fight it didn’t take long for Shahbazyan to finish the fight with a powerful kick. Shahbazyan is averaging 4.41 significant strikes per minute while absorbing 2.16 successful takedowns every 15 minutes. Shahbazyan is averaging 6.77 successful takedowns every 15 minutes and he is successful on 40 percent of the tries. He is also averaging 0.8 submission attempts every 15 minutes. There is no doubt that Shahbazyan is good on the ground, but those numbers are inflated a bit because he did have eight takedowns in the same fight.
Shahbazyan looks to be a rising star, but he gets to face Brunson in this one, and that is bad news for him. Brunson is a scrapper and he is going to make life tough on Shahbazyan. Brunson might not finish the fight, but he will come away with the victory at a very nice price.
Shane’s Pick Derek Brunson ML
AUTHOR: Shane Mickle
