3 days Ago By Lewis Thompson
Daniel Cormier couldn’t hold back his reaction to Edmen Shahbazyan’s vicious finish at UFC Vegas 102. Cormier was on his usual commentary duties for UFC Fight Night 251 on Saturday night when Shahbazyan put Dylan Budka away in just 95 seconds. As both men stood toe-to-toe, Budka stepped in on his opponent, which prompted Shahbazyan to unleash a devastating straight right hand.
The hit sounded like a gun shot as Shahbazyan’s lighting-quick reflexes allowed him to catch Budka, subsequently sending his opponent dancing into the canvas. The Armenian-American fighter followed up with some brutal ground-and-pound and it didn’t take long for referee Chris Tognoni to stop the fight. “That was a nasty pull back right hand, wasn’t it?” UFC Hall of Famer Cormier said moments after the stoppage.
“Holy smokes,” he added. Shahbazyan was awarded a $50,000 Performance of the Night bonus following his perfectly timed fight hand as he looks to climb into the top 15 UFC middleweight rankings. UFC commentator John Gooden added: “Still young, still learning, still impressing.
Shahbazyan with a statement tonight.” Shahbazyan, 27, has now won three of his last five UFC fights, alternating wins and losses in that run. He won his first five fights in Dana White’s promotion after emerging through the latter’s Contender Series in 2018.
‘The Golden Boy’ then suffered defeats to top UFC middleweights, such as Derek Brunson and Nassourdine Imavov, but has now established himself as a formidable force once again in the 185-pounds division with this win. “I love finishes. I’m a finisher at heart, getting a finish is always nice and it’s crowd pleasing for sure,” Shahbazyan said in a post-fight UFC interview.
“I was ready for anything, finishes just come naturally to me, but I was ready to go all three rounds and have a dominant performance. “Having all that experience – it’s almost seven years since I’ve been in the UFC at 27 years old – having those ups and downs in the UFC on the biggest stage are the best lessons I can ask for and I’ve learned from all of them. “I’m going to keep on improving but I'm coming to an age where I'm coming into prime and today I got my dad strength because I'm a dad now.
“Dad strength, in my prime - they’re all going to come together for sure...
I want to get three to four wins this year, get on a winning streak and keep on improving.” Elsewhere at UFC Fight Night 251, Jared Cannonier survived two first-round knockdowns to defeat Gregory ‘Robocop’ Rodrigues. The 40-year-old prevented a third consecutive UFC defeat, with one fighter saying his performance was 'inspiring'.
Meanwhile, Youssef Zalal earned himself a unanimous decision victory with a solid showing against Calvin Kattar..
