Volkan Oezdemir’s court case won’t affect his title shot against Daniel Cormier.
UFC 220 light heavyweight title challenger Volkan Oezdemir won’t have to worry about his shot at Daniel Cormier’s belt being interrupted by legal issues. But he did have to make an appearance in court today to plead not guilty to a felony battery charge.
According to Oezdemir’s lawyer (via MMA Fighting), the fighter turned in the plea in Broward County Seventeenth Judicial Circuit Court in Florida, and demanded a trial by jury. His next court date is on February 22nd.
Oezdemir was arrested on November 18th on an outstanding warrant following an August bar fight that saw a man allegedly end up with cuts, bruises, and concussion symptoms at his hands.
The 28-year-old Swiss fighter is 3-0 in the UFC with two quick knockouts over highly-regarded 205ers Misha Cirkunov and Jimi Manuwa. He will fight Cormier for the light heavyweight title in the co-main event of UFC 220, which goes down on January 20th in Boston. The main event will see Francis Ngannou challenge for the the heavyweight title against Stipe Miocic.