Edmen Shahbazyan vs. Dylan Budka
Unranked middleweights Edmen "The Golden Boy" Shahbazyan and Dylan "The Mindless Hulk" Budka will battle on Saturday. Shahbazyan started his UFC career strong with four straight wins but has since gone 2-5 over his last seven. Budka has lost back-to-back UFC fights after joining the organization with a win on Dana White's Contender Series.
Shahbazyan is two inches taller, but neither fighter enjoys a reach advantage. Shahbazyan lands 2.7 more significant strikes per minute, but he also absorbs 2.21 more. Both men average around two takedowns and 0.5 submissions per 15 minutes, with Budka having a slightly better takedown defense rate.
There's no question that Shahbazyan has been in the cage with better competition, but he's also come up short a lot. This really is a loser-leaves-town match, with the off-chance that both get the boot with an underwhelming performance. At -400, Shahbazyan is a massive favorite, but there's plus-money value taking the fight to go the distance at +152.
