At UFC Fight Night 251, Edmen Shahbazyan will step into the Octagon for his 19th pro-MMA fight, and 11th promotional appearance (12, if you count his DWCS win). Once touted as a future champion, ‘The Golden Boy’ found mixed success in the promotion, especially in his recent run where he lost five of his last seven. Shahbazyan will look to get back into the winning column against fellow DWCS alumni Dylan Budka, who is on a two-fight losing streak himself.

It’s no secret that ‘The Golden Boy’ will have to put his faith in his skills and his team to find a win on Saturday. Speaking of, what faith does Edmen Shahbazyan ascribe to? Is he a Muslim or Christian? Ahead of his fight this Saturday, that’s what we’re here to find out. So without further ado, let’s get right into it.

What is Edmen Shahbazyan’s religion?

Shahbazyan, a proud Armenian, was born on November 20, 1997, in Glendale, California. Following the footsteps of his brother Leon, he pursued martial arts from a young age. But his reason for training was not to channel his anger or aggression.  “I was a fat kid,” Shahbazyan laughed while speaking to the UFC. “So it was never like, ‘I should be a professional fighter.’ I just joined in. I was going to karate, and I was going to swimming.”

With a philosophy of ‘hard work pays off’ his only job in life since he was 16 was to attend school and then straight into MMA training. Today this tenacity and grit have made him achieve a record of 13-5-0 with 11 wins by knockout. But what does he believe in other than sheer hard work? — self-control.

Shahbazyan hasn’t publicly professed his religion so we’re not sure what faith he ascribes to. However, he is proud of his Armenian heritage, famously carrying to the Octagon in 2020 the flag of Artsakh, a disputed territory between Armenia and Azerbaijan, that was officially recognized as a part of Azerbaijan by the international community.

While we might not know about his religion, we do know that ‘The Golden Boy’ leans on his discipline and work ethic. In a previous UFC interview, he said that he neither drinks nor smokes. “I always thought, ‘Why would I drink? It’s not going to do me any good,’” Shahbazyan said. “I’d rather eat a fried chicken sandwich instead of drinking, instead of intoxicating my body. I’ll have a fried chicken sandwich that I can just burn off the next day.”

More about Edmen Shahbazyan’s early life

Edmen started training in martial arts at age 9 and trained at his former gym Glendale Fighting Club, run by the infamous Edmond Tarverdyan since the age of 12. Since age 12, he was exposed to high-level MMA as he served as a training partner for none other than  Ronda Rousey.

Shahbazyan originally attended Glendale High School and then transferred to Herbert Hoover High School where he stayed until he graduated. This was when he entered the world of wrestling and competed in the CIF State Wrestling Championship tournament. 

He made his professional debut in 2017 and faced Selah Williams, winning by technical knockout. Thereafter, he continued fighting in the California pro-MMA scene and amassed an undefeated record of 6-0, winning all fights by first-round knockout. 

His undefeated record and exciting fighting style opened the doors to the UFC when he got invited to compete in Dana White’s Contender Series 13. And guess what? He faced Antonio Jones, winning by technical knockout only 40 seconds into the first round. 

However, his luck didn’t continue five into the UFC, where he was outclassed and finished by Derek Brunson in 2020. Since then, he’s only been able to amass two wins in his last seven. Credit to Shahbazyan, he only lost to top contenders in the division like Nassourdine Imavov, Jack Hermansson, and Gerald Meerschaert. Going into Saturday, the fight against Budka could be a defining factor for Edmen Shahbazyan. Will he come out on top? We’ll have to wait and find out.