If you told me that Brendan Allen (26-7 MMA) and Edmen Shahbazyan (16-5 MMA) had fought already, I’d believe you. The most average fight in the most average division occupies the co-main slot of UFC Fight Night: Muhammad vs. Bonfim this coming weekend.

I call it average, but Allen currently has a No. 4 ranking, while unranked Shahbazyan was a shock announcement as his next opponent. A win for either guy puts them very close to a title shot, considering they’re both American, and Strickland has semi-recent fights over the division’s top-three fighters in Chimaev, Du Plessis, and Imavov.

I’m going to walk you through my advanced prediction for Allen vs. Shahbazyan, who I think is more likely to win (logically), and what the best bets for this fight are.

Brendan Allen vs. Edmen Shahbazyan prediction

No doubt Shahbazyan is one of the most dangerous strikers at middleweight, but Allen has improved his stand-up fighting to the point where he can probably compete. The real deciding factor in this fight, however, is the grappling and cardio.

Shahbazyan’s kryptonite in literally all of his UFC losses is both of those factors. He wins a round, gasses hard, gets taken down, and never recovers. Shahbazyan only has three wins past the first round, and two of those were decisions.

For whatever reason, he hasn’t been able to address his glaring cardio issues outside the cage, and we haven’t been able to see if he’s developed in that area during this three-fight streak, because two of those wins came in the first round—plus his victory over Andre Petroski was sloppy.

Allen isn’t much better in the cardio department, but at the very least, his last victory was a fourth-round retirement over Reinier De Ridder. Allen is also a grappling specialist and, at one point, had four UFC rear-naked choke wins in a row.

All signs point to one of two results: Edmen Shahbazyan knocks out Allen in the first round, or Allen wins thereafter by submission or decision. If I had to put money on it, I’m pulling for Allen with the fighting experience and style.

Safe Picks: Allen by SUBMISSION or DECISION / Shahbazyan by KO/TKO.

Mat’s pick: Allen ML.

Best bets for Allen vs. Shahbazyan

Allen is the -230 moderate favorite compared to Shahbazyan at +175.

  • If you’re going to pick Allen, pick him to win OUTRIGHT (ML), or by SUBMISSION.
  • If you’re going to pick Shahbazyan, pick him to win by KO/TKO.

More Fighters Weekly News

Follow Fighters Weekly on Instagram, Facebook, and X.