Until “Bones” is either suspended or cleared, there is no direct path to the division title.
But don’t expect surging contender Volkan Oezdemir to sit around waiting for the drama to unfold, because he’s more interested in taking out the top of the light heavyweight leaderboard so that once the dust settles, there will be no doubt as to who gets the next title shot.
Which is why Oezdemir was not surprised when No. 2-ranked Alexander Gustafsson, last seen crushing Glover Teixeira, ignored his post-fight call out.
“His next fight was supposed to be for the belt, so because of that, fighting me would be completely stupid,” Oezdemir told MMAFighting.com. “He will lose his spot if he fights me, he will go down and lose one year of his life. And I understand he wants to be smart. He’s coming back from an injury and now he thinks it’s his time to fight for the belt. He doesn’t want to lose it.”
Oezdemir turned the division upside down by trashing Jimi Manuwa at the UFC 214 pay-per-view (PPV) event last July in Anaheim, Calif., the third time he’s disposed of a potential title challenger this year.
Still lots of moving parts to this 205-pound puzzle, but no question Oezdemir and Gustafsson are right up there alongside former division kingpin Daniel Cormier. Unfortunately, everything hinges on Jones.
Until “Bones” is either suspended or cleared, there is no direct path to the division title.
But don’t expect surging contender Volkan Oezdemir to sit around waiting for the drama to unfold, because he’s more interested in taking out the top of the light heavyweight leaderboard so that once the dust settles, there will be no doubt as to who gets the next title shot.
Which is why Oezdemir was not surprised when No. 2-ranked Alexander Gustafsson, last seen crushing Glover Teixeira, ignored his post-fight call out.
“His next fight was supposed to be for the belt, so because of that, fighting me would be completely stupid,” Oezdemir told MMAFighting.com. “He will lose his spot if he fights me, he will go down and lose one year of his life. And I understand he wants to be smart. He’s coming back from an injury and now he thinks it’s his time to fight for the belt. He doesn’t want to lose it.”
Oezdemir turned the division upside down by trashing Jimi Manuwa at the UFC 214 pay-per-view (PPV) event last July in Anaheim, Calif., the third time he’s disposed of a potential title challenger this year.
Still lots of moving parts to this 205-pound puzzle, but no question Oezdemir and Gustafsson are right up there alongside former division kingpin Daniel Cormier. Unfortunately, everything hinges on Jones.
