Preview: UFC Atlanta ‘Usman vs. Buckley’

Middleweights
Edmen Shahbazyan (14-5) vs. Andre Petroski (13-3)

Odds: Shahbazyan (-185), Petroski (+154)

It seems like Shahbazyan will be an eternal prospect, as "The Golden Boy" is still somehow only 27. Shahbazyan's connections clearly got him to jump the line and wind up on the 2018 edition of the Contender Series, but no matter how he got there, Shahbazyan made the most of the opportunity; he quickly obliterated his opponent, then reeled off four straight wins -- three by first-round knockout -- to become one of the sport's top prospects regardless of division. 2020 saw Shahbazyan get his first UFC main event against Derek Brunson, who was able to survive the early going and expose Shahbazyan's lack of a gas tank, but the conventional wisdom was that Shahbazyan -- only 22 at the time -- would use the loss as a learning experience and bounce back. But that hasn't really happened to any major degree, even if Shahbazyan is clearly aware of and trying to work on those issues; he's gotten more patient in terms of waiting for his moments to strike, but nearly every Shahbazyan bout comes down to one moment where he sees the finish and dumps out his gas tank trying to end the fight, with him either getting the win or winding up completely exhausted afterwards. It still works half the time, so it's hard to say Shahbazyan is a complete bust as a fighter, but it does feel like he's now been spinning his wheels for about half a decade.

On the other side of things is Petroski, who could easily fall on either side of the typical Shahbazyan equation after a surprisingly successful UFC career that still suggests a clear ceiling. Petroski seemed a bit overhyped on the regional scene and early in his UFC career; he seemingly had all the tools and skills to be a bullying wrestler and grappler, but most of his wins were a lot uglier and less dominant than they should've been on paper. But around 2022, Petroski turned a corner into becoming a much more rock-solid fighter; admittedly, his dedication to the grind might not be the most exciting approach, but he's much more consistent over three rounds and has proven to be a capable enough striker when finding himself against a better grappler. A rough two-fight stretch where he got handled by Michel Pereira and Jacob Malkoun dulled the hopes that Petroski could turn his improvements into a run towards title contention, but he's since rebounded with three more solid wins to earn another big shot here. Like most Shahbazyan fights, there's two clear outcomes -- Shahbazyan early or his opponent late -- and this one falls right on the line of going either way; since Petroski's eaten some knockouts in the past, the pick is Shahbazyan via first-round knockout.

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Usman vs. Buckley
Namajunas vs. Maverick
Shahbazyan vs. Petroski
Garbrandt vs. Barcelos
Abdul-Malik vs. Brundage
Menifield vs. Sy
The Prelims