The Prelim Breakout Star is a once-per-event article that helps fans get to know those who will be entertaining them from the undercard. The intention of the article is not to bring attention to the most talented fighter on the preliminary card, but rather one that the common fan may have overlooked or underestimated.
Melsik baghdasaryan
Nickname – The Gun
Affiliation – Glendale Fight Club
From – Yerevan, Armenia
Height – 5’8″
Weight – 145 lbs (Featherweight)
Record – 6-1 (0-0 UFC)
What makes him impressive
For a featherweight, Baghdasaryan’s power may be unmatched. The guy goes in there and lets things fly seemingly in wild fashion, but the strikes themselves are very technical. The result of that combination is crazy power. In his four fights leading up to his Contender Series bout, he knocked out all four opponents in a combined one minute and two seconds. While that isn’t a lot of cage time, that tells you precisely the ability he has to turn someone’s lights out immediately.
Why he has been overlooked
People are sometimes hesitant to crown a prospect who has so little cage time. With Baghdasaryan, that includes both number of bouts and the amount of actual time in the cage. With a kickboxing and boxing background, some people don’t believe he’ll be able to regularly defend the takedown. Although he alleviated some of those concerns in his Contender Series fight, he still is only a slight favorite in this fight at -142 (Odds by FanDuel). That gives you a pretty good sense of how convinced people are that he can replicate that success.
What makes this a good match-up
Collin Anglin has been wrestling since he could walk, which would seem to make him a bad matchup for a kickboxer. However, he often does not lean on his wrestling very much. His training at Factory X has him believing in his hands (and for good reason). Although they are quite good for a prospect of his level, testing them out here may be a cause for disaster. Even if he goes in with the plan to wrestle early, he’s going to have to feel out Baghdasaryan a bit, and I feel like that isn’t going to go well for him.
Prelim Breakout Star Record: 221-107-1 (2 NC) (13 DNF)
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