One of the co-featured bouts for
#UFC262 will be a middleweight match between No. 6 Jack
Hermansson (21-6) vs. No. 12 Edmen Shahbazyan (11-1), I’m told by a
source with direct knowledge of the deal.Shahbazyan will have a second chance to prove his ceiling in the
step-up fight. https://t.co/HIpK0i6kX6— Manouk Akopyan (@ManoukAkopyan)
March 19, 2021
Sign up for ESPN+ right here, and you can then stream the UFC live on
your smart TV, computer, phone, tablet or streaming device via the
ESPN app. The Ultimate Fighting Championship is building
quite an impressive card for its return to Texas this May.
The Los
Angeles Times first reported early Friday that a middleweight
matchup pitting Jack
Hermansson (21-6) against Edmen
Shahbazyan (11-1) was in the works for
UFC 262. The event, which will now take place in Houston, goes
down on May 12. The high-stakes 185-pound tilt has since been
confirmed by
other outlets.
Hermansson dropped a decision to Marvin
Vettori in his last time out, and the Swede has alternated wins
and losses in his last four bouts. Hermansson put himself on the
radar with a four-fight win streak that saw him finish Thales
Leites, Gerald
Meerschaert and David
Branch, as well as earning an impressive decision victory over
Ronaldo
Souza. From there, Hermansson fell down the rankings from a
second-round knockout loss to Jared
Cannonier, only to bounce back with a heel hook of Kelvin
Gastelum. “The Joker” sports an impressive career finish rate
of 81 percent, with stoppages in six of his eight UFC
victories.
Like his opponent, Shahbazyan is looking to return to the win
column. “The Golden Boy” suffered his first career defeat when he
faced Derek
Brunson in 2020, losing by knockout in the third round. The
setback halted momentum of four UFC wins over the likes of Darren
Stewart and Brad
Tavares on the way up. The California native posts an even
greater finish rate than his opponent, with 91 percent of his
triumphs coming inside the distance.
UFC 262 will be capped off by a vacant lightweight championship
match between Charles
Oliveira and Michael
Chandler. The pay-per-view card will be held on May 12 at the
Toyota Center in Houston with fans in attendance, and the event
will be bolstered by a major lightweight clash between Tony
Ferguson and Beneil
Dariush. In addition to the Hermansson-Shahbazyan battle, other
noteworthy bouts include Edson
Barboza vs. Shane
Burgos at featherweight and Alex Perez
vs. Matt
Schnell in the flyweight division.
