Tomorrow night on the main card of UFC Vegas 27, we will see a big time matchup in the middleweight division. The Golden Boy Edmen Shahbazyan (11-1) makes his return as he takes on The Joker Jack Hermansson (21-6).
Shahbazyan was one of the UFC‘s most hyped prospects in 2020. He started out his career inside the octagon at 4-0 including three first round stoppages. The most impressive victory was his first round knockout over Brad Tavares.
That win propelled Shahbazyan into his first UFC main event last August. Shahbazyan was tasked with fighting the gate keeper of the middleweight division, Derek Brunson. Ultimately, Brunson stopped the Shahbazyan hype train via a third round TKO.
Shahbazyan didn’t want to take a step back to reset after the loss and the UFC didn’t give him one. Tomorrow night, he’s going to be taking on one of the trickier middleweights in the division.
Jack Hermansson is looking to bounce back after he lost to Marvin Vettori back in December. Hermansson is 5-2 in his last seven UFC fights with the two losses coming against Vettori and Jared Cannonier. If he’s able to win at UFC Vegas 27, Hermansson will propel himself right back into the mix at 185.
UFC Vegas 27 Prediction
I’m very curious to see what we will get out of Edmen Shahbazyan at UFC Vegas 27. Derek Brunson broke him in his last fight and usually with prospects one of two things happens after a loss like either.
Either Shahbazyan is going to look better than ever tomorrow or he will look like a shell of that top prospect that UFC fans were excited for. Even if Shahbazyan looks good tomorrow, he’s in for a very tough fight.
Jack Hermansson does pretty much everything well inside the cage. His striking is his weakest area, but he’s still effective with his striking. He can hang on the feet with Shahbazyan especially if Shahbazyan’s power can’t put him away.
If this fight goes the distance, I see no way that Shahbazyan wins. I think Hermansson’s grappling and pace are a tough out for the prospect. I wouldn’t rule out a Shahbazyan stoppage on the feet at UFC Vegas 27, but I think The Joker is going to be too much.
Prediction: Jack Hermansson by Submission (Rear Naked Choke) – Round 3