Edmen Shahbazyan (born November 20, 1997) is an American

mixed martial artist Mixed martial arts (MMA), sometimes referred to as cage fighting, no holds barred (NHB), and ultimate fighting, and originally referred to as Vale Tudo is a full-contact combat sport based on striking, grappling and ground fighting, incorpo ...

competing in the middleweight division of the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC).

Background

Edmen Shahbazyan fights out of

Glendale, California Glendale is a city in the San Fernando Valley and Verdugo Mountains regions of Los Angeles County, California California is a state in the Western United States, located along the Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents ac ...

. His older brother, Leon, is also a professional fighter. Edmen started training in martial arts at the age of 9 and trained at his former gym Glendale Fighting Club since the age of 12. As a teenager, he served as a training partner for

Ronda Rousey Ronda Jean Rousey (; born February 1, 1987) is an American professional wrestler, actress, former judoka and mixed martial artist. She is currently signed to WWE, where she performs on the SmackDown brand and is the current SmackDown Women� ...

. Shahbazyan initially attended Glendale High School, but transferred to Herbert Hoover High School from where he graduated. During his time in Hoover High, he wrestled and reached the CIF State Wrestling Championship tournament.

Mixed martial arts career

Early career

Shahbazyan made his professional debut in mixed martial arts on February 25, 2017 at CXF 6. He faced Selah Williams and won by technical knockout in the first round. Edmen continued fighting for mixed martial arts promotions in California and compiled a 6–0 record, winning all fights by first-round knockout. Shahbazyan was invited to participate on Dana White's Contender Series 13 of Dana White's Contender Series. Edmen faced Antonio Jones, winning by technical knockout only 40 seconds into the first round. His performance led to White offering him a contract to fight in the UFC. Edmen was formerly managed by Ronda Rousey's One Fight Management.

Ultimate Fighting Championship

Shahbazyan debuted in the UFC on November 30, 2018 at The Ultimate Fighter 28 Finale against Darren Stewart. He won the fight via split decision. Shahbazyan's next fight was against Charles Byrd at UFC 235. He won the fight by first-round knockout. Shahbazyan faced

Jack Marshman Jack Robert Marshman (born December 19, 1989) is a retired Welsh professional mixed martial artist who competed in the Middleweight division. A professional competitor since 2010, he has competed for Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC), BAMMA a ...

on July 6, 2019 at

UFC 239 ''UFC 239: Jones vs. Santos'' was a mixed martial arts event produced by the Ultimate Fighting Championship that was held on July 6, 2019 at T-Mobile Arena in Paradise, Nevada, part of the Las Vegas Metropolitan Area. Background A UFC Light Heav ...

. He won the fight via a rear-naked choke submission in the first round. Shahbazyan was expected to face

Krzysztof Jotko Krzysztof Jotko (born August 19, 1989) is a Polish mixed martial artist currently competing in the Middleweight division. He has previously fought in the Ultimate Fighting Championship. Background Born and raised in Orneta, Poland, Jotko was o ...

on November 2, 2019 at UFC 244. However, Jotko withdrew from the bout and was replaced by Brad Tavares. After initially knocking Tavares down via a punch, Shahbazyan won the fight via a head kick KO in the first round. Shahbazyan was expected to face Derek Brunson on March 7, 2020 at UFC 248. However it was announced on February 20 that the bout had been rescheduled and would take place on April 11, 2020 at UFC Fight Night: Overeem vs. Harris. Due to the

COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic, also known as the coronavirus pandemic, is an ongoing global pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The novel virus was first identified ...

, the event was postponed and eventually scheduled for August 1, 2020 at UFC Fight Night: Brunson vs. Shahbazyan. Shahbazyan lost the fight via technical knockout in round three. During the walkout Shahbazyan carried a flag of

Nagorno-Karabakh Republic Artsakh, officially the Republic of Artsakh () or the Nagorno-Karabakh Republic (),, is a breakaway state in the South Caucasus whose territory is internationally recognised as part of Azerbaijan. Artsakh controls a part of the former N ...

, an internationally unrecognized regime. This was done in support after minor clashes took place in the area during that time. After the bout, the Consul General of Azerbaijan in Los Angeles

Nasimi Aghayev Nasimi Aghayev ( az, Nəsimi Ağayev) is the Azerbaijani ambassador to Germany and the former Consul General of Azerbaijan in Los Angeles (2012-2022). Prior to that, he served at the Embassy of Azerbaijan in Washington, D.C. as a counselor for poli ...

sent a protest regarding the incident to the UFC. As an outcome Shahbazyan apologized to the UFC for breaking the rules and causing controversy, and also lost his Reebok sponsor money. Shahbazyan was scheduled to face

Jack Hermansson Jack Berndhard Hermansson (born 10 June 1988) is a Swedish and Norwegian professional mixed martial artist. He currently competes in the middleweight division of the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC). He is the former middleweight champion ...

on May 15, 2021 at UFC 262. However, for unknown reasons the bout was postponed and took place at UFC Fight Night: Font vs. Garbrandt on May 22, 2021. He lost the bout via unanimous decision after being dominated by Hermansson's grappling in rounds 2 and 3. Shahbazyan faced Nassourdine Imavov on November 6, 2021 at UFC 268. He lost the fight via TKO due to elbows from crucifix position in round two. Shahbazyan face Dalcha Lungiambula on December 10, 2022, at UFC 282. He won the fight via technical knockout in round two. This win earned him the '' Performance of the Night'' award.

Championships and accomplishments

Mixed martial arts

Ultimate Fighting Championship The Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) is an American mixed martial arts (MMA) promotion company based in Las Vegas, Nevada. It is owned and operated by Zuffa, a wholly owned subsidiary of Endeavor Group Holdings. It is the largest MMA ...

** Performance of the Night (One time)

Mixed martial arts record

, - , Win , align=center, 12–3 , Dalcha Lungiambula , TKO (punches) , UFC 282 , , align=center, 2 , align=center, 4:41 ,

Las Vegas, Nevada Las Vegas (; Spanish for "The Meadows"), often known simply as Vegas, is the 25th-most populous city in the United States, the most populous city in the state of Nevada, and the county seat of Clark County. The city anchors the Las Vega ...

, United States , , - , Loss , align=center, 11–3 , Nassourdine Imavov , TKO (elbows) , UFC 268 , , align=center, 2 , align=center, 4:42 ,

New York City, New York New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the most densely populated major city in the Un ...

, United States , , - , Loss , align=center, 11–2 ,

, Decision (unanimous) , UFC Fight Night: Font vs. Garbrandt , , align=center, 3 , align=center, 5:00 ,

, United States , , - , Loss , align=center, 11–1 , Derek Brunson , TKO (punches) , UFC Fight Night: Brunson vs. Shahbazyan , , align=center, 3 , align=center, 0:26 ,

, United States , , - , Win , align=center, 11–0 , Brad Tavares , KO (head kick) , UFC 244 , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 2:27 ,

, United States , , - , Win , align=center, 10–0 ,

, Submission (rear-naked choke) ,

, , align=center, 1 , align=center, 1:12 ,

, United States , , - , Win , align=center, 9–0 , Charles Byrd , TKO (elbows and punches) , UFC 235 , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 0:38 ,

, United States , , - , Win , align=center, 8–0 , Darren Stewart , Decision (split) , The Ultimate Fighter: Heavy Hitters Finale , , align=center, 3 , align=center, 5:00 ,

, United States , , - , Win , align=center, 7–0 , Antonio Jones , TKO (punches) , Dana White's Contender Series 13 , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 0:40 ,

, United States , , - , Win , align=center, 6–0 , Daniel McWilliams , TKO (punches) , CXF 12 , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 0:30 ,

Burbank, California Burbank is a city in the southeastern end of the San Fernando Valley in Los Angeles County, California, United States. Located northwest of downtown Los Angeles, Burbank has a population of 107,337. The city was named after David Burbank, wh ...

, United States , , - , Win , align=center, 5–0 , Aaron Hamilton , TKO (punches) , CXF 11 , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 1:08 ,

Los Angeles, California Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the wo ...

, United States , , - , Win , align=center, 4–0 , Anthony Thomas , TKO (punches) , Gladiator Challenge: Fight Club , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 0:14 ,

El Cajon, California El Cajon ( , ; Spanish: El Cajón, meaning "the box") is a city in San Diego County, California, United States, east of downtown San Diego. The city takes its name from Rancho El Cajón, which was in turn named for the box-like shape of the ...

, United States , , - , Win , align=center, 3–0 , Dejon Daniels , TKO (punches) , CXF 8 , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 2:58 ,

, United States , , - , Win , align=center, 2–0 , Dearmie Street , TKO (punches) , CXF 7 , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 3:16 ,

, United States , , - , Win , align=center, 1–0 , Selah Williams , TKO (head kick and punches) , CXF 6 , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 0:43 ,

, United States ,

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Shahbazyan, Edmen 1997 births Living people American male mixed martial artists Middleweight mixed martial artists Ultimate Fighting Championship male fighters American people of Armenian descent Sportspeople from Glendale, California Mixed martial artists from California Mixed martial artists utilizing Shotokan American male karateka