Brendan Allen will face edmen shahbazyan in the co-main event of UFC Vegas 118 this Saturday in Las Vegas after the middleweight matchmaking he wanted kept slipping away. Allen said the Dricus du Plessis fight was supposed to be settled in January, but it never materialized, leaving him with a different opponent and a later slot on the card.
Allen’s lost path to du Plessis
Allen said the du Plessis bout was meant to be a done deal in January. He said he was told du Plessis would not fight until July after du Plessis was said to have gotten hurt, and Allen described the collapse this way: “I kind of think I was a little bit finessed, to be honest with you, and I don’t know by who.”
That is why the assignment against Shahbazyan arrived now. Allen said he asked for Kamaru Usman after the du Plessis fight fell through, but those plans did not come together either. He ended up taking the opponent who was on a win streak and did not have a fight.
Shahbazyan’s three-fight run
Shahbazyan enters on a three-fight win streak, and his most recent win came when he stopped Andre Muniz at UFC 320 this past October. He was also scheduled to face Jun Yong Park in April before Park’s injury scratched that contest, which left him available when Allen needed a new opponent.
Allen said, “The next person in line who didn’t have a fight was Edmen, and yeah, just right place right time for for him.” That puts Shahbazyan into one of the biggest spots of his career even though he is unranked.
Vegas 118 stakes
Allen has now had a fight date move from March to April to May, and this Saturday finally brings the pairing to Las Vegas. He wanted the co-main event to be a reality, and he got it, but the road to this one went through a canceled title-level matchup, a failed push for another name, and a fighter on a three-fight climb who was ready when the opening came.
