“In that camp, we actually did a lot of things I didn’t even get to do in the fight,” he said. “Hopefully it’ll go on this fight or the next fight, but we’re getting better and better. A quick finish is always amazing, but we’ve worked so hard.”
He called working with Xtreme Couture head coach Eric Nicksick a “blessing,” particularly tapping into Nicksick’s knowledge regarding strategy and gameplanning for opponents. Shahbazyan also jokes that he is getting his “dad strength” as well, and vowed to give his son a fun highlight to watch when he is a little older.
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Petroski is far from someone who will lay down if Shahbazyan hits him with a good shot, though. The Philadelphia-based veteran is arguably in the best form of his career having won three fights in a row, including a decision win over the highly decorated submission artist Rodolfo Vieira.
It’s a good test for both men. Shahbazyan has classically struggled against grappling-based opponents, while three of Petroski’s four losses came via knockout. Stylistically, it projects as the good ol’ striker-vs-grappler matchup, but Shahbazyan feels quite confident in his entire skillset.
