Middleweights
Darren Stewart (9-3) vs. Edmen Shahbazyan (7-0)Advertisement
It took a little bit longer than expected, as well as a change in weight class, but London’s Stewart might finally be figuring things out. Stewart came into the UFC as an interesting light heavyweight prospect, as he was small and quick for the division and took advantage of that with an aggressive, bullying style. However, against better competition, that style started to fall apart. Opponents did not go away quite as easy, leaving Stewart either physically outmatched or completely gassed, the latter happening more often than not after “The Dentist” decided to cut to 185 pounds. Stewart’s exciting style allowed him to stick on the roster as he worked out the kinks, and in his last two fights, he has been much more balanced in his aggression, waiting out Eric Spicely and Charles Byrd for the right opportunities to get the finish. While he has turned around his career, Stewart is still currently typecast as a mid- to lower-tier action fighter, so it is unsurprising that he was chosen as the first UFC opponent for Shahbazyan.
Shahbazyan is still a complete question mark at this point, even after coming through Dana White’s Tuesday Night Contender Series. His highlights all look good, but at this point, Shahbazyan’s career is nothing but highlights; his entire resume subsists of first-round finishes, with no fight lasting longer than three and a half minutes. Shahbazyan just turned 21 years old, so there is a ton of potential, but he also looks like a top candidate to get rushed in over his head. He is managed by Ronda Rousey, which means the UFC will probably give him a bigger push than he deserves, and training out of the Glendale Fighting Club does not exactly portend the correct type of development.
Shahbazyan is going to hit the prospect wall sooner rather than later, even if it is uncertain that this is the fight where that happens. If this was the Stewart of even a year ago, this would be a coin flip of a firefight, but this version of “The Dentist” is far beyond anyone Shahbazyan has faced to date. Stewart is still an opponent that the newcomer can walk down and knock out, but it is difficult to go against such a huge experience gap. The pick is Stewart via second-round knockout.
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