Middleweights Derek Brunson, Edmen Shahbazyan to Clash at UFC 248 in Las Vegas

An intriguing middleweight showdown between Derek Brunson and Edmen Shahbazyan has been added to the UFC 248 lineup.

The Las Vegas Review-Journal was first to report the matchup. UFC 248 takes place at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas on March 7 and is headlined by a middleweight title tilt between Israel Adesanya and Yoel Romero. In the co-main event, Weili Zhang will defend the strawweight crown against Joanna Jedrzejczyk.

Brunson went 2-0 during his 2019 campaign, earning decision triumphs against Elias Theodorou at UFC Fight Night 151 and over Ian Heinisch at UFC 241. The 36-year-old North Carolina native is 11-5 during his promotional tenure and owns other notable triumphs over Lyoto Machida, Uriah Hall, Lorenz Larkin and Chris Leben.

The 22-year-old Shahbazyan has emerged as one of the top rising stars in the middleweight division. The Glendale Fighting Club representative improved to 4-0 in the Octagon at UFC 244, where he knocked out Brad Tavares with a head kick in the opening stanza. Shahbazyan is 11-0 as a professional and has finished all but one of his career triumphs inside of a round.