“It’s crazy, right?” Shahbazyan said with a smile as we joked about how it feels like he’s been fighting in the UFC for an eternity already just a few days ahead of his return to action against Andre Muniz this weekend at UFC 320. “I got signed at 20 and made my debut at 21, and I’m 27 now, about to be 28 at the end of the year. It’s been a crazy, crazy ride, and I’m pretty happy to have gone pretty much all my experience in the UFC. I couldn’t ask for more. It’s been a blessing.”
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A training partner of superstar Ronda Rousey as a teen, Shahbazyan was tabbed as the next standout to emerge from Glendale Fighting Club. After rampaging through the regional circuit with a string of first-round stoppage wins, the highly regarded prospect needed just 40 seconds to stop Antonio Jones and land a UFC contract. He picked up a gruelling split decision win over game veteran Darren Stewart in his promotional debut, and Shahbazyan continued to give more people a reason to believe he just might be the next big thing at middleweight.
Finishes of Charles Byrd and Darren Stewart led to a showdown with middleweight fixture Brad Tavares at UFC 244 in New York City, and Shahbazyan showed out, winning the bout by head kick knockout at the midway point of the opening round. Beating Tavares, who had just gone the distance with newly minted middleweight champion Israel Adesanya in his previous outing, catapulted the young Californian into the Top 10.
And then the wheels fell off.
A main event assignment opposite Derek Brunson ended in a 3rd-round stoppage loss and was followed by a defeat on the cards in a bout with Jack Hermansson, and then another stoppage defeat at the hands of Nassourdine Imavov. The shine had come off “The Golden Boy” and everyone that was clamoring for a place on the bandwagon just two years earlier was now looking for a refund.
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“I think all those ups and downs, experiences in the UFC, if I were to go back, I wouldn’t change a thing,” Shahbazyan said, reflecting on his journey to UFC 320, where he enters on a two-fight winning streak. “It shaped me into a better fighter and a better man.
“Having all those ups and downs really gets you to fix areas in your game, change certain things, and me doing that, I really noticed my improvement, the maturity I’ve gained from going through all that. Like I said, I wouldn’t go back and change anything; I’m happy with how everything went. Obviously in the moment it’s upsetting when you have losses and all like that, but in the bigger picture, I know it’s for the best.”
In between his loss to Imavov and his return to action against Dalcha Lungiambula at UFC 282, Shahbazyan moved from his longtime home in California for a place in Las Vegas, recognizing that it was time to switch things up and ensure that he was spending as much time as possible focusing on his craft.
“Sometimes when you stay somewhere too long and you’re not improving, you can be loyal to a fault,” he said when asked about the decision to part ways with his longtime team and head to the Nevada desert. “I think that was the case with me staying in California, but also, I have all my family and friends in California, so it was a bit too comfortable for me. I needed to get out of my comfort zone, so moving out here definitely got me out of my comfort zone.
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“Don’t get me wrong: I’ve made good friends out here, but my main clique and my family — my Day Ones — are in Cali. I see them whenever I go there, but when I’m in Vegas, it’s more focused on my craft and building my skills.
“The training out here, the coaching out here, especially for my last two fights,” he added, a shake of the head conveying that the two situations are not remotely comparable in his eyes. “I started working more with Eric Nicksick from Xtreme Couture, and I think making those changes, developments in my game have made the biggest difference.”
While teaming up with Nicksick and being surrounded by a host of elite competitors (including Tavares) every day at the standout Las Vegas gym have brought about major changes to his game, the greatest shift has come at home.
Strange as it may sound to those that picture Las Vegas nothing more than the blur of lights and non-stop distractions of The Strip, moving to “The Fight Capital of the World” has created a different level of structure and routine in Shahbazyan’s life, and the proud father wouldn’t have it any other way.
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“Being out here in Vegas, it’s pretty much that I’m going to work out, coming home, and spending time with my family, my wife and my kid,” he said with a smile. “That’s my day-to-day life now, and honestly, I love it. I go train, come back home to my family, and go back to training. Out of training camp, I visit California and see my friends and family, but for the most part, I’m here just training and coming home to my family.
“It’s a simple life, and honestly, it keeps me motivated,” Shahbazyan added, sounding a little surprised with how much he truly enjoys the low-key life he’s built for himself. “After fights, I get to visit my other friends and family, so it’s another motivational factor to go see them. I work hard, go do my thing in the fight, and then go see them.
“It’s simple and I love it. Simple is best.”
His newfound love of simplicity has filtered over into how he approaches each matchup as well, and so far this year, the results have been excellent.
View Shahbazyan’s Athlete Profile
In February, Shahbazyan blew through Dylan Budka, needing just 94 seconds to get the win and collect a Performance of the Night bonus. Four months later, he ventured to Atlanta and scored a unanimous decision win over Andre Petroski, registering consecutive victories for the first time since opening his UFC career with those four straight wins that rocketed him into the rankings.
But where the younger version of Shahbazyan — and myriad fighters of any age — may let a pair of wins get them thinking about how far they could take it, where a third consecutive victory on Saturday night at T-Mobile Arena would lead, the more mature version of Shahbazyan is keeping things as stripped down and straightforward as possible ahead of this weekend’s clash with Muniz.
“I want to keep riding that momentum, keep it going, and keep improving; just take it one fight at a time,” he said. “Yeah, I’m on a 2-fight streak, but I’m still taking it one fight at a time. Every single fight matters a lot to me; I treat it like a gold medal or a championship fight. I prepare amazingly for each fight, and I take it one fight at a time.”
While he acknowledges there were moments in the past where he started thinking a little far ahead, the in-the-moment middleweight reiterated that they were important pieces that contributed to him being where he is today, and he wouldn’t change any of it.
And where he is right now is staring down a matchup with Muniz, a dangerous grappler once viewed as a dark horse in the middleweight division who is currently in the midst of the same struggle to find consistency Shahbazyan was dealing with prior to his last two outings.
As such, the rebuilding Las Vegas resident anticipates the Brazilian to be dialled in this weekend.
“I like the matchup,” Shahbazyan said of the pairing with Muniz, who lost to Ikram Aliskerov earlier this year in Kansas City and has gone just 1-3 over his last four fights after opening his UFC career with five straight wins. “Stylistically, it’s a striker versus grappler matchup, but he’s very talented. He has a really good ground game, unorthodox striking, and he mixes it up really well too.
“I know he’s had those ups and downs recently too, but I’m expecting a sharp version of him to come out Saturday night, and I’m ready for him.”
Though he’s reticent to look too far beyond UFC 320, he was willing to let himself consider what it would feel like to close out a 3-0 year inside the Octagon with a victory at home this weekend.
“It’s gonna feel great,” he said, a massive smile spreading across his face. “With a great win, it’s gonna be a nice early birthday present; a nice birthday and nice end-of-the-year holidays.”
His birthday is seven weeks after the event; somehow, he’s still only turning 28.
“The Golden Boy” is just now starting to inch into his prime, and he just might have needed to endure those ups and downs, change a few things, and embrace the simple life to become the best possible version of himself.
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