Photo by Alexandre Schneider /Zuffa LLC/Zuffa LLC
Volkan Oezdemir and Ilir Latifi faced each other in a Light Heavyweight clash tonight (Sat., Aug. 10, 2019) at UFC Fight Night 156 inside Antel Arena in Montevideo, Uruguay, only on ESPN+. In a strong showing, Oezdemir stopped his foe in the second round with a series of hard shots.
Oezdemir landed a good low kick to start the bout. Another. Body shot landed for Oezdemir, then a big right and a knee from close distance. Latifi caught a low kick, resulting in a big slam into top position. Oezdemir popped up quickly into the clinch. Big right hand scored for Latifi. Oezdemir stepped directly into a knee that landed perfectly to the jaw, but Latifi somehow absorbed the shot. Latifi’s face showed the damage three minutes into the fight. Oezdemir attacked the calf with a kick. Latifi scored with an uppercut but failed on a takedown. Oezdemir really chased his opponent around the Octagon for much of the final minute. The opening round ended with Oezdemir in complete control.
Oezdemir opened the second frame with aggression, landing a glancing right hand. Oezdemir dug into the leg once more. Oezdemir landed with some jabs while stalking his foe. Good right body kick from the Swiss athlete. Latifi’s punches consistently came up a bit short when the two exchanged. Good combination from the Southpaw stance scored for Oezdemir after trapping his foe along the fence. Suddenly, a hard knee from Oezdemir rocked Latifi, sending him to the mat. Latifi was badly hurt, but he showed a lot of heart to recover and work back to his feet. He wasn’t off the hook though, as Oezdemir moved into the clinch and did good work with hard elbows. Body shots added up for Oezdemir. Latifi was completely stuck on the fence, getting touched up consistently. With a minute remaining, Latifi was miraculously still standing. Then, a low kick wobbled Latifi, and a pair of heavy hooks sealed the deal along the fence.
Latifi went down hard, having absorbed a pretty massive amount of damage in the final few minutes. For Oezdemir, it was really a great and patient performance, one that demonstrated a new ability to successfully set his own pace for the veteran knockout artist.
Result: Volkan Oezdemir defeats Ilir Latifi via second-round knockout
For complete UFC Fight Night 156: “Shevchenko vs. Carmouche 2” results and coverage click HERE.