Preview: UFC Fight Night 223 ‘Dern vs. Hill’

Middleweights

Anthony Hernandez (10-2, 4-2 UFC) vs. Edmen Shahbazyan (12-3, 5-3 UFC)

ODDS: Hernandez (-240), Shahbazyan (+200)

His stardom is now far from guaranteed, but Shahbazyan remains one of the more intriguing prospects in the UFC’s middleweight division. “The Golden Boy” likely got his shot on Dana White’s Contender Series thanks to his connections—his record was paper-thin, but his manager at the time was Ronda Rousey—but he took advantage of the opportunity in a big way, earning a contract with a 40-second knockout and then kicking off his UFC career with an electric four-fight winning streak. Shahbazyan’s run up the ladder was notable for just how sharp he was with his weapons in the early going. Then came a three-fight losing streak, mostly notable for how badly Shahbazyan tired as things went on. Derek Brunson, Jack Hermansson and Nassourdine Imavov were able to take over their fights with Shahbazyan and neutralize the prospect out of his game. The end result? Shahbazyan took over a year off to retool before his December bout against Dalcha Lungiambula. It was a promising reboot for Shahbazyan, who showed off the same talent as always, along with some newfound patience before scoring a second-round finish. With that said, it was also the type of pairing that did not figure to do much to test Shahbazyan’s longstanding issues. Instead, that duty looks to fall to Hernandez, who has made a career out of breaking opponents through pace and cardio. It is hard to pick one standout skill for “Fluffy” outside of his willingness to fight with constant aggression, marching down opponents and trying ideas until something works. That can sometimes lead Hernandez right into danger against the most potent finishers on his resume, but even then, he has found some wins that were unlikely on paper, most notably his 2021 submission of decorated grappler Rodolfo Vieira. Riding a three-fight winning streak, Hernandez looks to be in solid position to get the highest-profile win of his career here, even if it may be a bit more difficult than expected. Hernandez usually gets his wins through pure pace rather than control, so Shahbazyan will constantly get opportunities to land something of a fight-ending nature up until the point that he is too tired to be effective. If Shahbazyan fought at a higher pace or showed better cardio against Lungiambula, that would be enough to give him the nod, but it looks like he is still finding his sea legs as far as keeping a high pace over multiple rounds—a bad place to be against Hernandez. The pick is Hernandez via decision.

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Dern vs. Hill
Hernandez vs. Shahbazyan
Godinez vs. Ducote
Buckley vs. Fialho
Ferreira vs. Johnson
Borshchev vs. Hayisaer
The Prelims