Derek Brunson vs. Edmen Shahbazyan - 8/1/20 UFC Fight Night 173 Pick and Prediction

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

Where to Watch: ESPN+ Stream unmatched UFC coverage on ESPN+. Sign up now! Advertisement

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. 

Get Our Experts BEST BETS For All Of The Games CLICK HERE

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. 

See Who Our Experts Picked To Win

Shane’s Pick Derek Brunson ML

Get Premium Picks Start Winning Now »
The pick in this article is the opinion of the writer, not a PickDawgz site consensus.
Previous Pick
Next Pick

Mitch's Take...

Free Parlay Mitch's College Basketball Parlay for 1/19/21 NCAAB Pick and Prediction

Guaranteed Packages

Guaranteed packages automatically give you a credit if the package does not turn a profit—the sum of betting all individual picks. THESE ARE NOT PARLAYS UNLESS OTHERWISE CLEARLY STATED. If a guaranteed package does not profit, a credit for its full purchase price is automatically issued after picks are graded and verified.

For example, if you purchase a $39.95 package that doesn’t profit, you’ll get a $39.95 credit towards any future purchase(s) on our site. Credits are usually issued within hours of a game’s conclusion, so please allow a few hours for final verification.

To use your credits, log in to your account and add another package or pass to your cart. Credits will automatically reduce what you owe. Any remaining balance will be settled through our payment system, with any leftover credits available future purchases. Credits do not expire.

Dismiss