Why AJ Dobson is stoked for Edmen Shahbazyan at UFC on ESPN 53

LAS VEGAS – AJ Dobson has a very modern-era reason to be excited for his opponent at UFC on ESPN 53.

Dobson (7-2 MMA, 1-2 UFC) takes on Edmen Shahbazyan (12-4 MMA, 5-4 UFC) in a middleweight bout Saturday at UFC on ESPN 53 (ESPN/ESPN+) at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas. And while it’s true Shahbazyan has about twice as much experience as the most experienced opponent Dobson’s fought heretofore, that’s not the key factor in why he’s stoked to share the cage with him.

“I was pretty excited. He’s a guy that’s headlined before. He’s in the video game,” Dobson said of first word of his opponent at Wednesday’s UFC on ESPN 53 media day. The video game in reference is “EA Sports UFC 5,” which came out this past fall for PlayStation 5 and XBox. Shahbazyan is one of dozens of current and former UFC middleweight fighters available as fighters in the game.

But beyond that, Dobson sees an opportunity to beat a fighter who trains with former middleweight champion Sean Strickland at Xtreme Couture in Las Vegas, which will make a win over him all the more valuable on his resume.

“He has a really good team behind him,” Dobson said. “It’s a really good opportunity for me to show that my skills are up to par and I belong. I think this is going to be the best Edmen ever. People can look at his record and say whatever they want, but he’s still a part of a really good team. He’s been putting in work. He’s gotten to see that champion level camp with Sean. So I think I’m going to get the best Edmen and I’m prepared for that.”

Check out Dobson’s full media day interview in the video above.

For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC on ESPN 53.