Niko Price Faces Leon Shahbazyan in UFC Vegas 122 Farewell

Niko Price returned to the Octagon for a planned final fight against Leon Shahbazyan at UFC Vegas 122 on Saturday, October 10, 2026, at Meta APEX in Las Vegas, Nevada. The 37-year-old welterweight veteran accepted the matchup after UFC officials offered him another opportunity to receive a more fitting retirement farewell.

Price entered the contest with a 16-11 professional record and four consecutive defeats, including a first-round submission loss to Michael Chiesa in March. Shahbazyan, 30, arrived with a 12-5 record after losing his UFC debut to Levan Chokheli in June, when leg kicks stopped him in 23 seconds.

According to sports.yahoo.com, Price had initially announced his retirement during fight week ahead of his bout with Chiesa. Because Chiesa was also retiring, Price's departure received limited attention during the broadcast, prompting UFC matchmakers to offer him another fight.

Price said UFC officials approached him about arranging a more appropriate farewell. He explained that Sean Shelby, one of the promotion's matchmakers, wanted to contact him after the unexpected retirement announcement.

"They were like, 'Would you like a proper retirement?' And I was like, 'Heck yeah, that sounds like fun. I'll take another fight,'" Price told Home of Fight.

Price described the offer as consistent with the conditions he had set for returning. He said he would only accept another bout if the promotion presented him with a specific opponent and asked whether he wanted to compete.

"Sean Shelby told me he wanted to call me because when I said I wanted to retire in Seattle, I surprised him, too," Price said. "It was crazy. I said the only way I would take another fight was if UFC came to me and said, 'Here's the fight.

Do you want it?' That's exactly what they said, word for word, and to me, that was God speaking."

Price also indicated that the matchup was intended to provide a competitive final appearance rather than pit him against an undefeated prospect. Shahbazyan's recent defeat, however, left both fighters looking to recover from difficult stretches in their careers.

Although Price had substantially more UFC experience, his recent results raised questions about his ability to finish his career with a victory. The veteran had won only once in his previous five appearances, with defeats against Themba Gorimbo, Jacobe Smith, Nikolay Veretennikov and Chiesa, according to sports.betmgm.com.

Shahbazyan's record offered a different profile. The Armenian fighter had won 11 of his 12 victories by submission, according to dknetwork.draftkings.com, making his grappling a significant feature of the matchup. However, his promotional debut against Chokheli ended quickly after repeated leg kicks.

Price acknowledged that he felt satisfied with his professional accomplishments but left open a narrow possibility of accepting another fight if an exceptional opportunity emerged.

"Yeah, no, I'm feeling pretty accomplished in my career," Price said. "I'm going to end it with this one. If a golden nugget comes up, you can't turn down a golden nugget. It's as simple as that."

The UFC Vegas 122 matchup was scheduled for the preliminary card of UFC Fight Night: Allen vs. Duncan at Meta APEX in Las Vegas. Price entered the contest after a four-fight losing streak, while Shahbazyan sought his first UFC victory following his 23-second defeat to Chokheli.