UFC 262 is getting a fun one at middleweight for the main card. The LA Times was the first to report today that Jack Hermansson (21-6) will be taking on “The Golden Boy” Edmen Shahbazyan (11-1).
Of course, we learned last night that the card was being headlined by the vacant lightweight title fight between Michael Chandler and Charles Oliveira. Today, we learned that UFC 262 will take place in Houston in front of a crowd at the Toyota Center.
Jack Hermansson had a huge win halfway through the year last year against former title challenger, Kelvin Gastelum. With that win, Hermansson was 5-1 in his last six and appeared just a fight or two away from a UFC title shot.
However, that is when he ran into Marvin Vettori. The two men fought in December and Vettori won a decision in an absolute war. It was a tough defeat for The Joker, but he’s ready to get back into the swing of things. He’s getting one of the UFC‘s brightest young prospects in his next matchup.
Will the UFC hype come back?
There was so much hype in 2020 around Edmen Shahbazyan. Shahbazyan has all of the skills to be a world champion and he’s only 23 years old. In his first big step up in competition, Shahbazyan demolished Brad Tavares.
After that win, the UFC decided to give him a headlining spot against Derek Brunson. Shahbazyan ultimately fell short and it was a humbling moment for the young fighter. Frankly, I’m a little surprised by this booking decision.
Shahbazyan is still incredibly young and the UFC believes he can be a star. Giving him Jack Hermansson off of his first loss is not an easy rebound matchup. In fact, it’s a brutal matchup, but Shahbazyan does have all the skills needed to get the win. Either way, it should be a fantastic matchup on May 15th.