Volkan Oezdemir News

Russell Sai - January 20, 2018

Daniel Cormier showed the world why he is the UFC light heavyweight champion on Saturday night in Boston at UFC 220. “DC” was matched up against the quickly rising star Volkan Oezdemir, who went into the title fight unbeaten in the UFC. Cormier was able to walk through an early offensive attack from “No Time” in the early part of the first round and then turned things up as the round came to and end. Cormier ended up finishing Oezdemir in the second round by TKO.

Justin Golightly - January 20, 2018

Volkan Oezdemir will be one half of the crew who will try to dethrone the UFC champions tonight and prove that they belong at the very top of the heap in their division. Many people are counting them both out, including their opponents of course. Al that aside, Oezdemir believes that not only did Daniel Cormier commit a crucial error in promoting their UFC 220 light heavyweight title clash, but that all of the pressure is on him instead of the challenger. “I just don’t understand the logic here. So, [Daniel Cormier]’s coming off a loss. He’s using this fight to gain back his popularity, right? He has a stink on his shoulder. He needs this fight to bring something to his legacy and the only thing he does is try to make me look bad. It doesn’t look good on him, you know? What does he do if he gets a win on me? It’s nothing. His legacy is not going to get back. This is the fight where he needs it. He needs the win and that’s why there is so much pressure on him. So, the win that he needs is gonna be discredited. You know, that’s kind of stupid. I just don’t understand the logic in here.”

Justin Golightly - January 18, 2018

UFC light heavyweight champion @dc_mma: “He may be a good fighter, but I know one thing that Vol-can’t do… and that’s beat Daniel Cormier!” #UFC220 pic.twitter.com/6HNjp24FMN — MMAFighting.com (@MMAFighting) January 18, 2018

Justin Golightly - January 16, 2018

Someone bring Daniel Cormier some swishy pants and a whistle. If there is an epitome of a wrestling coach, it’s the UFC light heavyweight champion with his shirt tucked tight into his work out pants. Throughout his career, he’s dropped iconic lines that’d be at home in any high school or college gym: ‘Ineligible for competition,’ and ‘get your academics in order’ to just name a few. Now, he’s dropped yet another iconic speech for UFC 220. Cormier wants to know how junior varsity Volkan Oezdemir stands a shot at him when the varsity crew couldn’t get it done. “There’s varsity and there’s JV. Have you ever heard of that? Henri Hooft is a great guy. Greg Jones is a fantastic guy. I don’t know who the jiu-jitsu coach is down there, they’re all fantastic guys. They had a wrestle-off, Anthony [Johnson] whipped Volkan [Oezdemir], so Volkan became a training partner. He went to get beat up. They sent the A-Guy in there, he got whipped. They built him back up, he came back in there again and he got whipped. Now he’s gone. So now they’re going to bring the JV guy.”

Justin Golightly - January 12, 2018

There is a UFC card in Missouri this Sunday, but the big UFC kick-off to 2018 is just a week away now. UFC 220 goes down in Boston with Stipe Miocic and Daniel Cormier both defending their titles against young hard-hitting hype machines. As we get closer to the event, tensions get higher and there’s bound to be some verbal jabs before the physical ones. Volkan Oezdemir went straight from a poke to an all-out haymaker to try and get underneath Cormier’s skin, but the UFC light heavyweight champion turned it right back on him. Savage post @volkan_oezdemir but since no one knows or follows you I’ll send it out to the public. 3000 likes for such a good post seems like a waste. quick point tho you’re no Jon Jones and I’m no jimmy Manuwa. And I’m a lot better than Kelly Amunson #tapmachine #bum #ufc220 pic.twitter.com/pvGpoHLE2F

Justin Golightly - January 11, 2018

We’re just over a week away from two huge title fights in Boston for UFC 220. In a way, the main and co-main events are mirror images of each other. Two hyped newcomers in Volkan Oezdemir and Francis Ngannou with one-punch knockout power, against champions seemingly on a completely different level than their competition. Daniel Cormier keeps reminding Oezdemir of that fact in the lead-up to their big showdown. Against Anthony ‘Rumble’ Johnson and before that against the top heavyweights in the world, Cormier has felt that power and has never been taken out by it. “It’s crazy that this kid thinks he can knock me out with one punch. What happens when it doesn’t happen? You will all see next Saturday. I’ll stand with this kid and still beat him. There are levels to this game and this guy ain’t on the level. Volkan Oezdemir, you have done well but now you’re in over your head. Sharpening my tools with Javier Mendez. I am who I am because of who I am. Hard work and commitment is something I’ve always had in spades. I can’t wait to show you what we have been cooking up. We are AKA. Down goes Volkan.” — Daniel Cormier via his Instagram.

Tom Taylor - January 10, 2018

Back in November, we learned that top light heavyweight contender Volkan Oezdemir was being charged with felony battery as the result of an unfortunate incident in a Florida bar. According to a report from MMAFighting.com, who spoken with Oezdemir’s lawyer Bruce A. Zimet, the Swiss fighter pleaded not guilty to this charge, and demanded a trial by jury at a Tuesday arraignment.  Oezdemir’s next hearing will occur on February 22, and the good news is that he’s been given no travel restrictions in the meantime. This means that he’ll be able to fly to Boston to battle UFC light heavyweight champion Daniel Cormier at UFC 220 on January 20 without a hitch.

Justin Golightly - December 30, 2017

Daniel Cormier and Volkan Oezdemir stared down for the first time yesterday for their upcoming fight at UFC 220. While a couple of mild verbal jabs haven hit social media and while they were on the stage for the press conference, mostly it’s been pretty quiet as far as fight hype goes. However, after the presser, Oezdemir decided to take to Twitter and get things really started with the UFC light heavyweight champion. Daniel Cormier fired back while somehow incorporating his Game of Thrones fandom as well. …That’s impressive. When you already know what’s going to happen but you let him talk… #enjoyyourlast3weeks #ufc220 pic.twitter.com/0BgGtje11N

Justin Golightly - December 13, 2017

What Volkan Oezdemir has done in a single year is pretty remarkable. It’s hard to believe he just debuted with the UFC back in February. Since then, he’s stacked together three straight wins, two knockouts, and earned a light heavyweight title shot against Daniel Cormier in January for UFC 220. If there is one person who knows about accomplishments, it’s Conor McGregor. Just take a look at what he’s done since his Jose Aldo fight. Oezdemir gave the UFC’s only Champ Champ some praise and asked him if he could pick his brain in the gym, to which McGregor obliged. “Hey Conor [McGregor], how are you? This is Volkan [Oezdemir]. I hope everything is well wiith you. First of all, I wanted to congratulate you on everything you’ve accomplished so far. It is amazing. Nobody has ever done that before. They told me to ask you a few questions, but I have only one request. What do you think if next time I go to Switzerland, I stop by Dublin so we can share the mat together [and] share some knowledge about fighting, because I love your philosophy of fighting.” — Volkan Oezdemir speaking to Takedown by Gentside.

Tom Taylor - December 7, 2017

On January 20, when the UFC touches down in Boston, Massachusetts with UFC 220, Swiss light heavyweight contender Volkan Oezdemir will attempt to topple the division’s champion Daniel Cormier. Ahead of this fight, the two fighters’ advantages are quite clear. Oezdemir, of course, has established himself as one of the light heavyweight division’s most venomous punchers. Cormier, meanwhile, is one of the most accomplished wrestlers in the division – and in MMA, period.

Jason Kindschy - December 6, 2017

BJPENN Radio is live at 8PM ET/5PM PT! 8:15PM ET- First up, one of MMA’s most recognizable names, Joe “Diesel” Riggs joins us to preview his upcoming fight for the M-1 middleweight strap and what’s next for the long-time veteran. A return to the UFC? Another bare-knuckle boxing match? We’ll be discussing it all.

Justin Golightly - December 6, 2017

Things have been relatively quiet in the light heavyweight division for a little while now, but now we officially have Daniel Cormier defending his title against Volkan Oezdemir early next year in Boston. Aside from Ovince Saint Preux’s fight with Ilir Latifi at UFC Charlotte and Misha Cirkunov’s scrap with Glover Teixeira at UFC Winnipeg, we don’t have any big Top 10 match-ups in the division booked. That’s all about to change soon. After a successful surgery last month, Alexander Gustafsson is back to training for his comeback. Feels good to be back at the @allstarsgymsweden after the surgery. Time to get to work and come back stronger than ever in 2018!

Tom Taylor - November 29, 2017

Earlier this month, we learned that UFC light heavyweight contender Volkan Oezdemir had been arrested ad charged with “aggravated battery causing bodily harm or disability.”After a brief stay in the Broward County jail in Florida, his surety bond was set at $10,000.  According to a report from the South Florida Sun-Sentinel, which includes video of Oezdemir’s court appearance, the light heavyweight contender’s arrest stems from an August 12 fight with a man named Kevin Cohen, which occurred at a yet-unidentified bar in Fort Lauderdale. During Oezdemir’s hearing, it was explained that Cohen sustained swelling and several cuts as a result of this altercation. 

Chris Taylor - November 26, 2017

Daniel Cormier believes his fight with Volkan Oezdemir will proceed as scheduled. Volkan Oezdemir (15-1 MMA, 3-0 UFC) was taken into custody just over a week ago for aggravated battery stemming from an alleged bar incident this past August in Florida.

Justin Golightly - November 22, 2017

Jon Jones = Volkan= ‍♀️ issues. Gus = already lost to @dc_mma == leads us to DC and myself, two clean athletes playing punch face . Ps- I like playing kick face also . @danawhite pic.twitter.com/AVsGUh0mVS — Ovince Saint Preux (@003_OSP) November 22, 2017

Justin Golightly - November 21, 2017

It’s common knowledge now that Daniel Cormier was slated to defend his UFC light heavyweight title against Volkan Oezdemir. There was no official announcement, but the two have both let it slip that UFC 220 in Boston was going to be the date. That was, until an altercation at a bar ended up putting everything in jeopardy for the rising contender. Obviously, this has to hit close to home for Cormier, who opened up about the situation in a recent interview. He’s also ready and willing to defend against anyone else if Oezdemir’s chance has to be delayed. “It’s tough to be going through this type of thing, especially at this time when you’re on the cusp of your biggest moment of your career. I don’t know what happened. You’ve got to not be doing things that are wrong or put yourself in these situations where stuff can go sideways. You’ve got to try to stay out of those positions. […] Maybe it was self-defense but because he is who is is, it’s much worse because he has the ability to sleep dudes that are trying to hit him. You never know what’s happening but even these run-ins, they’re really unneeded, especially when you’re a young guy as Volkan is and you’re on the cusp of something so big for the first time in your career.”

Chris Taylor - November 19, 2017

Volkan Oezdemir’s camp issues a statement following his recent arrest in Fort Lauderdale, Florida. Earlier today it was reported that the light heavyweight contender, Volkan Oezdemir, was arrested Saturday night (November 18, 2017) in Fort Lauderdale, Florida and charged with aggravated battery.

Tom Taylor - November 19, 2017

This morning, news surfaced that top UFC light heavyweight contender Volkan Oezdemir had been arrested and charged with “aggravated battery causing bodily harm or disability.” Oezdemir, according to reports, is being held in Broward County jail in Florida. According to the Broward County Sheriff’s Office database, his bail has been set at $10,000.  The UFC has now released a brief statement on Oezdemir’s arrest, which followed a request from BloodyElbow: