Edmen Shahbazyan releases statement following loss to Derek Brunson at UFC Vegas 5
Edmen Shahbazyan was on a hot streak in the UFC before running into veteran middleweight contender Derek Brunson. On Saturday night in the UFC Vegas 5 main event, Edmen Shahbazyan hit a roadblock as the 11-0 middleweight, who claimed he'd become the youngest champion in the UFC was finished in the third round by Derek Brunson.
Edmen Shahbazyan went into the fight with a lot of hype but he was in for a rude shock as Brunson destroyed him with nasty punches and elbows before getting the stoppage in the third round.
Following the fight, Edmen Shahbazyan had to be taken to a local hospital for treatment and the 22-year-old fighter has now released a statement, updating his fans about his condition.
“I’m OK everyone just need some stitches,” Shahbazyan wrote on Instagram. “Thank you for all your messages, love you all! Congrats to Derek Brunson tonight, he did a great job. No excuses, it’s the fight game and I’ll be back! Blessed to have the support I have from everyone.”
Having earned his UFC contract from Dana White’s Contender Series, Edmen Shahbazyan set the Octagon on fire by notching up four straight wins inside the unforgiving cage. Edmen Shahbazyan also finished three out of those four fights.
UFC president Dana White said that Edmen Shahbazyan's loss to Derek Brunson proves the fact that the former is yet to be tested against top ranked athletes in the division and on his first true test last Saturday, the up-and-coming talent came up short.
“No, I wasn’t disappointed,” White said about Shahbazyan’s performance at the post-fight press conference. “Listen, everybody knew, no matter what the odds said, he’s going in against an experienced f**king guy. Brunson’s fought everybody. Shahbazyan hasn’t fought everybody and this is where you find out where a guy’s at tonight. You put him in against a guy like Derek Brunson.”