Edmen Shahbazyan issues statement following loss to Derek Brunson at UFC Vegas 5

UFC middleweight prospect Edmen Shahbazyan has released a statement following his third-round TKO loss to Derek Brunson at UFC Vegas 5.

Shahbazyan’s first UFC main event did not go as planned. After a strong start in the first round, the 22-year-old Californian began to fade badly in the second round. Brunson turned on the gas and hurt Shahbazyan, nearly finishing him with ground and pound just before the end of the second round. The fight somehow was allowed to enter the third round, but referee Herb Dean decided he had finally seen enough and stopped the fight early in the third and final round after Shahbazyan ate a few more big shots.

For Shahbazyan, the loss to Brunson marks his first career defeat, moving him to 11-1 overall as a pro. Following the event, the youngster took to social media to release a statement on his loss to Brunson. Check it out on his Instagram below.

 

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I’m ok everyone just need some stitches. Thank you for all your messages, love you all! Congrats to @derekbrunson 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!

A post shared by Edmen Shahbazyan (@edmenshahbazyan) on Aug 1, 2020 at 10:02pm PDT

I’m ok everyone just need some stitches. Thank you for all your messages, love you all! Congrats to @derekbrunson 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!

It’s certainly a classy message from Shahbazyan, who is managed by UFC Hall of Famer Ronda Rousey. Instead of making excuses for the loss, Shahbazyan gave props to his opponent Brunson for putting on a spectacular performance, which shows a lot of maturity for a young fighter. Thankfully, he also says he feels better despite taking a lot of punishment in the fight.

As for what’s next for Shahbazyan, he probably should take a few months off to rest and recover after taking so much damage in this fight. He entered the bout as the No. 9 ranked middleweight in the world and likely won’t drop too much in the rankings since Brunson was actually ranked one spot higher than him at No. 8.

What do you think is next for Edmen Shahbazyan following his third-round TKO loss to Derek Brunson at UFC Vegas 5?