Edmen Shahbazyan, 22 years old and undefeated, will get his first big test on Saturday when he faces veteran middleweight Derek Brunson in the main event of UFC Fight Night at the promotion’s Apex facility in Las Vegas.
The fight was moved to the top of the bill from the co-main event spot last week after the original headliner, Holly Holm vs. Irene Aldana, was canceled following the withdrawal of Aldana due to a positive test for coronavirus.
The fights are on ESPN+, with the main card starting at 9 p.m. ET and the prelims at 6 p.m.
Shahbazyan (11-0, 4-0 in the UFC) has had finishes in his last three UFC victories, most recently a first-round head-kick knockout of Brad Tavares in November.
Brunson (20-7, 11-5 UFC) has not fought since last August’s decision victory over Ian Heinisch, his second win in a row.
The new co-main event is a matchup of top-10 female flyweights. Joanne Calderwood, No. 4 in ESPN’s divisional rankings, will face ninth-ranked Jennifer Maia. Calderwood, who had been penciled in for a challenge of Valentina Shevchenko until the champion had to postpone the fight because of a leg injury, was brought in as a short-notice replacement for Maia’s original opponent, Viviane Araujo.
How to watch the fights:
Watch the fights on ESPN+. If you don’t have ESPN+, get it here.
There’s also FightCenter, which offers live updates for every UFC card.
Saturday’s fight schedule
ESPN+, 9 p.m. ET
Derek Brunson vs. Edmen Shahbazyan | Middleweight
Joanne Calderwood vs. Jennifer Maia | Women’s flyweight
Vicente Luque vs. Randy Brown | Welterweight
Lando Vannata vs. Bobby Green | Lightweight
Kevin Holland vs. Trevin Giles | Middleweight
ESPN+, 6 p.m. ET
Frankie Saenz vs. Jonathan Martinez | Men’s bantamweight
Ed Herman vs. Gerald Meerschaert | Light heavyweight
Ray Borg vs. Nate Maness | Men’s bantamweight
Eric Spicely vs. Markus Perez | Middleweight
Jamall Emmers vs. Timur Valiev | Men’s featherweight
Chris Gutierrez vs. Cody Durden | Men’s bantamweight
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