UFC: Ultimate Fighter 28 Finale - Predictions and Picks

#5 Darren Stewart vs. Edmen Shabazyan

Darren Stewart appears to have found his groove at 185lbs

The brawling Brit Stewart has been a pleasant surprise since his move to 185lbs in mid-2018; early in his UFC career at 205lbs he appeared to be out of his depth, as despite packing power, his cardio seemed questionable and his grappling extremely suspect. But he appears to have turned a corner now, as evidenced by his exciting wins over Eric Spicely and Charles Byrd this year.

Here he’s faced with a hugely aggressive newcomer in the form of Shabazyan, who is coming off a win on Dana White’s Contender Series earlier this year. At 21 years old, Shabazyan is already 7-0 in professional action and has yet to go the distance, which makes him a prospect to watch – at least on the surface.

The problem for him though is that – at least in his Contender Series appearance – he looked aggressive to the point of sheer recklessness, wading into the clinch with wild punches and taking a couple to give more back. If it was reminiscent of any other UFC fighter, it was former Women’s Bantamweight champ Ronda Rousey – unsurprising given that Shabazyan is also a student of Edmond Tarverdyan.

There’s always the potential that Shabazyan could take out Stewart early in a wild rush, but personally I don’t see it happening; Stewart’s issues were primarily with his cardio and grappling, not his durability, and ‘The Dentist’ hits extremely hard, particularly at 185lbs. Shabazyan will probably attempt his usual rush but find that Stewart is too tough of an opponent to take out quickly. And then he’s probably going to be in trouble.

This should be an exciting fight that doesn’t last long, but while Shabazyan’s exciting style and Rousey links may keep him around in the UFC for a while yet, I don’t think this is a good fight for him.

The Pick: Stewart via first round KO