Edmen Shahbzyan vs. Charles Byrd Added to UFC 235 Lineup in Las Vegas

A matchup of Dana White’s Tuesday Night Contender Series alums has been added to UFC 235, as Edmen Shahbazyan will square off against Charles Byrd.

The promotion confirmed the middleweight pairing to the Las Vegas Review-Journal. UFC 235 takes place at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas on March and is headlined by a light heavyweight championship clash between Jon Jones and Anthony Smith. In the co-main event, Tyron Woodley will defend his welterweight bout against Kamaru Usman. The card airs on pay-per-view following prelims on ESPN+.

If the card stays intact, Shahbzyan vs. Byrd will be the 14th bout on the bill.

Shahbazyan is unbeaten in his first eight professional bouts. After earning a UFC deal with a 40-second stoppage of Antonio Jones on the Contender Series, the Edmund Taverdyan protege took a split verdict over Darren Stewart in his Octagon debut at “The Ultimate Fighter 28” finale on Nov. 30.

Byrd, meanwhile, won two contests on the Contender Series before making his promotional debut with a first-round submission of John Phillips at UFC Fight Night 127 on March 17. Most recently, “Kid Dynamite” suffered a second-round TKO defeat to Stewart at UFC 228.