{"id":143507,"date":"2020-08-01T01:00:00","date_gmt":"2020-08-01T08:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/?p=143507"},"modified":"2020-08-03T09:12:33","modified_gmt":"2020-08-03T16:12:33","slug":"shahbazyan-favored-to-remain-undefeated-vs-derek-brunson","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/shahbazyan-favored-to-remain-undefeated-vs-derek-brunson\/","title":{"rendered":"UFC Fight Night Odds: Shahbazyan Favored to Remain Undefeated vs. Derek Brunson"},"content":{"rendered":"

Edmen Shahbazyan enters the main event of Saturday\u2019s UFC Fight Night card as a -350 favorite to maintain his undefeated record when he takes on Derek Brunson (+260), according to PointsBet Sportsbook.<\/p>\n

\"Edmen
Edmen Shahbazyan (left) punches Brad Tavares (right) in their UFC 244 fight at Madison Square Garden on Nov. 2, 2019. (Image: Sarah Stier\/USA Today Sports)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

The critical middleweight matchup should send the winner into the title picture. Shahbazyan has established himself as one of the most promising prospects in the UFC. He is a potential champion who benefits from the guidance of manager Ronda Rousey \u2013 perhaps the most iconic female MMA star of all- time.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s not if, it\u2019s when,\u201d<\/strong> Rousey told UFC president Dana White in an interview, speaking of Shahbazyan\u2019s championship potential. \u201cThis kid is special. He is one in a generation. I know what I\u2019m looking at, and you know what you\u2019re looking at. It\u2019s interesting to finally be in this time where everyone is starting to take notice.\u201d<\/strong><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

At 22-years-old, Shahbazyan already ranks as the No. 9 contender in the UFC middleweight division. He can prove he belongs with the division\u2019s elite by beating Brunson, whose only losses in the UFC have come to elite middleweights. Some see Brunson as a gatekeeper. But he believes that a big win over the strongly hyped Shahbazyan could make him a real contender again.<\/p>\n

Shahbazyan (11-0) and Brunson (20-7) headline Saturday night\u2019s card at the UFC\u2019s Apex facility in Las Vegas.<\/a><\/p>\n

Path to the Title<\/strong><\/h2>\n

The fight will likely see Shahbazyan push the action early. Brunson has shown an ability to calmly take the fight into the later rounds as of late. If he can continue to follow that game plan, he might have a chance of upsetting Shahbazyan\u2019s run towards the middleweight title.<\/p>\n

\u201cI know what I\u2019m capable of when I\u2019m prepared and dialed in,\u201d the 36-year-old Brunson told Yahoo Sports. \u201cI\u2019m a dangerous guy. I still feel like there is a lot out there for me. By no means have I written myself off. I think I\u2019ve got a lot more left in me, and you\u2019ll see some great performances in these next couple of years.\u201d<\/p>\n

Title Shot Contention\u00a0<\/strong><\/h2>\n

In the co-main event, women\u2019s flyweights Joanne Calderwood (14-4) and Jennifer Maia (17-6-1) face-off in what looks to be a dangerous matchup for Calderwood. The 33-year-old title contender was in line to take on champion Valentina Shevchenko. But Shevchenko backed out of a title fight because of an injury, and Calderwood instead chose to take a fight against Maia rather than wait for a championship bout.<\/p>\n

I get it. I\u2019m in a great position and a great opportunity ahead of me. But at the same time, I\u2019m not getting paid and people aren\u2019t thinking I\u2019m relevant to this spot,\u201d<\/strong> Calderwood told MMA Fighting.<\/em> \u201cI want to go out there and prove to myself and to the fans as well and I want to stay active.\u201d<\/strong><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Calderwood is capable of controlling the fight against Maia, as she is the better striker, even if she isn\u2019t an elite athlete. Calderwood comes into the bout as a -160 favorite against Maia (+128) in what figures to be a competitive fight.<\/strong><\/p>\n

Also on the UFC Fight Night card, Vicente Luque (-195) faces off against Randy Brown (+155) in a welterweight bout, and lightweights Lando Vannata (-160) and Bobby Green (+128) also fight on the main card.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Edmen Shahbazyan enters the main event of Saturday\u2019s UFC Fight Night card as a -350 favorite to maintain his undefeated record when he takes on Derek Brunson (+260), according to PointsBet Sportsbook. The critical middleweight matchup should send the winner into the title picture. Shahbazyan has established himself as one of the most promising prospects […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":42,"featured_media":143508,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[16,1074],"tags":[],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nShahbazyan Favored to Remain Undefeated vs. Derek Brunson<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Edmen Shahbazyan will try to keep his undefeated record intact when he faces Derek Brunson at UFC Fight Night on Saturday in Las Vegas.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/shahbazyan-favored-to-remain-undefeated-vs-derek-brunson\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Shahbazyan Favored to Remain Undefeated vs. Derek Brunson\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Edmen Shahbazyan will try to keep his undefeated record intact when he faces Derek Brunson at UFC Fight Night on Saturday in Las Vegas.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/shahbazyan-favored-to-remain-undefeated-vs-derek-brunson\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Casino.org\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:publisher\" content=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/Casino.OrgNews\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2020-08-01T08:00:00+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2020-08-03T16:12:33+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/07\/Edmen-Shahbazyan-UFC.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"1000\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"666\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Casino.org Staff Writer\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:creator\" content=\"@Casino_Org\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:site\" content=\"@Casino_Org\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Casino.org Staff Writer\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"3 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/shahbazyan-favored-to-remain-undefeated-vs-derek-brunson\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/shahbazyan-favored-to-remain-undefeated-vs-derek-brunson\/\",\"name\":\"Shahbazyan Favored to Remain Undefeated vs. Derek Brunson\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/shahbazyan-favored-to-remain-undefeated-vs-derek-brunson\/#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/shahbazyan-favored-to-remain-undefeated-vs-derek-brunson\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/07\/Edmen-Shahbazyan-UFC.jpg\",\"datePublished\":\"2020-08-01T08:00:00+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2020-08-03T16:12:33+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/#\/schema\/person\/8c48bf89dc86da77b4d856c7b3b78d77\"},\"description\":\"Edmen Shahbazyan will try to keep his undefeated record intact when he faces Derek Brunson at UFC Fight Night on Saturday in Las Vegas.\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/shahbazyan-favored-to-remain-undefeated-vs-derek-brunson\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/shahbazyan-favored-to-remain-undefeated-vs-derek-brunson\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/shahbazyan-favored-to-remain-undefeated-vs-derek-brunson\/#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/07\/Edmen-Shahbazyan-UFC.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/07\/Edmen-Shahbazyan-UFC.jpg\",\"width\":1000,\"height\":666,\"caption\":\"Edmen Shahbazyan (left) punches Brad Tavares (right) in their UFC 244 fight at Madison Square Garden on Nov. 2, 2019. 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