Tag: Volkan Oezdemir

Volkan Oezdemir Survives Submission Attempts, Defeats Paul Craig – UFC London Highlights

Volkan OezdemirHanding Paul Craig a unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27) loss in enemy territory, Switzerland native and one-time light heavyweight title challenger, Volkan Oezdemir upset the apple cart at the O2 Arena at UFC London — scoring a well-deserved victory. Oezdemir, who previously competed for undisputed light heavyweight gold, survived multiple leg lock and heel hook […]

Volkan Oezdemir

Handing Paul Craig a unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27) loss in enemy territory, Switzerland native and one-time light heavyweight title challenger, Volkan Oezdemir upset the apple cart at the O2 Arena at UFC London — scoring a well-deserved victory.

Oezdemir, who previously competed for undisputed light heavyweight gold, survived multiple leg lock and heel hook attempts from Scottish contender, Craig throughout their three round limit matchup to open the main card of UFC London.

Opening a cut on the right side of Craig’s head as a result of numerous slashing elbows, Oezdemir continued to evade numerous amrbar and triangle setups from a submission-chasing Craig — scoring a unanimous judging win.

Below, catch the highlights from Volkan Oezdemir’s unanimous decision win against Paul Craig

Video – Paul Craig, Volkan Oezdemir Separated Following UFC London Weigh-In Altercation

UFC LondonAhead of their UFC London main card opener, surging light heavyweight contender, Paul Craig, and one-time division title challenger, Volkan Oezdemir required corralling by UFC officials and security – with the former forcing a close engagement at the ceremonial weigh-ins.  Craig, who enters tomorrow’s matchup off the back of a rallying first round triangle submission […]

UFC London

Ahead of their UFC London main card opener, surging light heavyweight contender, Paul Craig, and one-time division title challenger, Volkan Oezdemir required corralling by UFC officials and security – with the former forcing a close engagement at the ceremonial weigh-ins. 

Craig, who enters tomorrow’s matchup off the back of a rallying first round triangle submission win over Nikita Krylov – donning his usual Scottish-themed face paint, wasted no time closing the distance with the Swiss native, with Mick Maynard doing his best to prevent a physical altercation.

Tensions between highly-touted flyweight prospects, Muhammad Mokaev, and Charles Johnson also reached and exceeded boiling point this Friday during today’s ceremonial weigh-ins ahead of UFC London – with matchmaker, Maynard separating the two following notable physical contact.

Mokaev, who debuted in the UFC back in March at the first edition of UFC London this year, landed in the promotion with a stunning first round guillotine win against Cody Durden in quickfire fashion.

UFC London lands with a 14 fight card tomorrow at The O2 Arena in the capital

As for Johnson, this weekend’s O2 Arena event will come as the LFA staple’s organizational bow.

However, ahead of the preliminary card matchup, tensions between the two rose across social media over the course of the week, with Mokaev receiving flak from Johnson as he posed with an AK 47 while seated in his car, in a bid to hype up to their fight.

As a result, Johnson, who had taken severe umbrage with Mokaev’s photo posted on social media, leaked a lengthy and tense direct message exchange with the highly-touted Mokaev. 

Noting his dislike for main card opponent, Jordan Leavitt ahead of the capital showcase, polarizing lightweight prospect, Paddy Pimblett – who had claimed that he would rearrange the face of the Las Vegas native on Saturday, smiled cordially with Leavitt before embracing the London crowd to boot.

Volkan Oezdemir Believes Training With Khamzat Chimaev Will Be His Key To Victory Against Paul Craig

volkan oezdemirTo counter Paul Craig’s grappling, Volkan Oezdemir spent his camp training with the wrestling phenom, Khamzat Chimaev. In a recent interview with MMA Junkie’s Farah Hannoun, Volkan Oezdemir (17-6) revealed that he has moved his training camp to the famed All Star Gym in Sweden, which is known for harboring stars such as Alexander Gustafsson […]

volkan oezdemir

To counter Paul Craig’s grappling, Volkan Oezdemir spent his camp training with the wrestling phenom, Khamzat Chimaev.

In a recent interview with MMA Junkie’s Farah Hannoun, Volkan Oezdemir (17-6) revealed that he has moved his training camp to the famed All Star Gym in Sweden, which is known for harboring stars such as Alexander Gustafsson and, more recently, Khamzat Chimaev. Speaking on the matter, Oezdemir stated that:

“It’s now my full time location. I’m really happy to be there… My previous fight in Abu Dhabi, I was in the same locker room as Khamzat and we spent a little bit of the fight week together. The manager and the coach were talking, and they invited me over there. So because of what happened in my fight, I decided it was time for a change. With this happening at the same time, it was the perfect opportunity for me to grab it.”

After His Recent Loss, Volkan Oezdemir Decided “It Was Time For A Change”

A part of this change was spending more time working on his takedown defense, as Paul Craig is known for his grappling ability, specifically his dangerous submission game. And perhaps there is no one better in MMA at the moment to train grappling with than Khamzat Chimaev, who burst onto the MMA scene 2 years ago largely thanks to his incredibly dominant wrestling game.

Meanwhile, Paul Craig (16-4), will look to extend his winning to six as he takes on Volkan Oezdemir this weekend at UFC Fight Night: Blaydes vs. Aspinall. Craig has displayed an amazing ground game recently, which Oezdemir will hope to nullify after all those grueling wrestling sessions with Chimaev.

Oezdemir will look to get back into the win column on Saturday night as he is currently on a two-fight losing steak, having only fought once in the previous two years. Oezdemir himself had quite the explosive entrance into the UFC like his new teammate Chimaev, where he won multiple fights via a KO in less than a minute, earning him the nickname ‘No Time’. 

Since then, Oezdemir has had an up-and-down career, despite earning a UFC title shot, and it seems like, with the recent camp change, he’ll be hoping to reignite the earlier spark and get another trademark KO finish, which had made him so popular with the fanbase.

Paul Craig vs. Volkan Oezdemir Added To UFC London Card On July 23

The upcoming UFC London card has had another bout confirmed, this time featuring light heavyweight contenders Paul Craig and Volkan Oezdemir. After an incredibly successful UK trip earlier this year, the MMA leader is heading back across the Atlantic for another dose of England’s capital on July 23. Joining Tom Aspinall, Molly McCann, and Muhammad…

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The upcoming UFC London card has had another bout confirmed, this time featuring light heavyweight contenders Paul Craig and Volkan Oezdemir.

After an incredibly successful UK trip earlier this year, the MMA leader is heading back across the Atlantic for another dose of England’s capital on July 23. Joining Tom Aspinall, Molly McCann, and Muhammad Mokaev as a returning victor will be Craig.

Per Mirror Fighting, the Scotsman will meet fellow European veteran Oezdemir inside The O2 in London this summer.

When he brings his top-notch Brazilian jiu-jitsu back in front of the UK crowd again, Craig (16-4-1) will be looking to replicate his past three fights in London, which saw him collect a trio of triangle-choke submissions.

As well as one victory in the city under the BAMMA banner in 2015, “Bearjew” has collected a pair of tap-out wins against Magomed Ankalaev and Nikita Krylov. While his triumph over the Dagestani came with one second left on the clock, Craig’s latest success against Krylov came in the opening round after he looked close to being ground-and-pounded to a stoppage loss.

Having now risen to #8 on the light heavyweight ladder courtesy of four consecutive wins, Craig will be looking to continue his ascent towards gold by adding the name of a former title challenger to his résumé.

But looking to spoil the party for Craig’s home crowd will be Oezdemir (17-6). The Swiss 205lber is in desperate need of a victory having been brutally knocked out by Ji?í Procházka and dominated by Ankalaev in his last two outings. His prior result, a split decision win against Aleksandar Raki?, was also highly controversial.

Having slipped to #9 in the rankings, “No Time” is ironically beginning to run out of time if he wants to mount another charge towards the belt. While he’ll be looking to rebound at this year’s second edition of UFC London, Craig will be hoping to further cement his position as a bonafide contender in the division.

The fights currently expected to take place at UFC London on July 23 are as follows:

Tom Aspinall vs. Curtis Blaydes (heavyweight main event)

Darren Till vs. Jack Hermansson (middleweight)

Alexander Gustafsson vs. Nikita Krylov (light heavyweight)

Molly McCann vs. Hannah Goldy (women’s flyweight)

Paul Craig vs. Volkan Oezdemir (light heavyweight)

Muhammad Mokaev vs. Charles Johnson (flyweight)

Mandy Böhm vs. Victoria Leonardo (women’s flyweight)

Who do you think will have their hand raised at UFC London, Paul Craig or Volkan Oezdemir?

Continue Reading Paul Craig vs. Volkan Oezdemir Added To UFC London Card On July 23 at MMA News.

Jamahal Hill Decides He Wants To “Make An Example” Out Of Oezdemir

UFC light heavyweight contender Jamahal Hill knows he has at least one more doubter to silence as he continues to rise in the rankings. Hill earned arguably the most gruesome knockout of his career against Johnny Walker at UFC Vegas 48. After taking his time to find his rhythm on the feet, he landed a…

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UFC light heavyweight contender Jamahal Hill knows he has at least one more doubter to silence as he continues to rise in the rankings.

Hill earned arguably the most gruesome knockout of his career against Johnny Walker at UFC Vegas 48. After taking his time to find his rhythm on the feet, he landed a big right hand that sent Walker collapsing to the mat halfway through the first round.

Hill has rebounded in a big way since his first UFC loss to Paul Craig at UFC 263. Before his knockout win over Walker, he finished Jimmy Crute in just 48 seconds last December.

Hill used his UFC Vegas 48 post-fight interview to address the doubters of his skillset. After getting word of Hill’s comments, Oezdemir pointed out that he remains a doubter following Hill’s main event win.

During a recent interview with TMZ Sports, Hill addressed Oezdemir’s tweet and whether or not he’ll be his next opponent in the cage.

“I’ve already said it, bro, as long as I got the say-so, he’s next,” Hill said. “Just for the simple fact that what I’m here to do, I can’t have people speaking out. If you gonna speak my name, you better be sure. You better be sure. And he spoke it, and I’m going to go out and make an example of him.”

Hill earned a spot amongst the top 10 UFC light heavyweights after his recent wins and could potentially face Oezdemir next. After back-to-back losses to Magomed Ankalaev and Ji?í Procházka, Oezdemir has slipped to No. 8 in the latest light heavyweight rankings.

Hill has proven to not walk away from a challenge or a fight and seems intent on addressing Oezdemir’s questions. If a fight between them ends up happening next, fans can expect quite the hostility in the buildup.

Do you want to see Jamahal Hill vs. Volkan Oezdemir next?

Continue Reading Jamahal Hill Decides He Wants To “Make An Example” Out Of Oezdemir at MMA News.

Volkan Oezdemir To Jamahal Hill: I’m Still Doubting You

Volkan Oezdemir wants Jamahal Hill to know that there is at least one person still doubting him. Heading into and following UFC Vegas 48, Jamahal Hill addressed the doubters he has had along his rise up the light heavyweight ranks. The 30-year-old has gone 4-1 during his UFC run thus far, with three of those…

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Volkan Oezdemir wants Jamahal Hill to know that there is at least one person still doubting him.

Heading into and following UFC Vegas 48, Jamahal Hill addressed the doubters he has had along his rise up the light heavyweight ranks. The 30-year-old has gone 4-1 during his UFC run thus far, with three of those wins coming by way of knockout. Nevertheless, he believes that he has been met with more doubt than praise, and he has been sure to tell everyone so, including in his Octagon interview at UFC Vegas 48.

After knocking out Johnny Walker in the UFC Vegas 48 main event, Hill again got on the microphone to address these doubters.

Hill’s light heavyweight peer Volkano Oezdemir seems to be among those who witnessed Hill’s victory and Octagon interview on Saturday, and he decided to inform the night’s big winner that he still has one notable doubter.

“I’m still doubting,” Oezdemir said in response to a social media post quoting Hill as saying “Stop doubting.”

Jamahal Hill Responds To Oezdemir’s Doubts

Volkan Oezdemir’s message to Hill may very well be his way of letting the rising contender know that he’d be interested in a potential fight against one another. The fight does make sense for Hill rankings-wise since Oezdemir is ranked #8 while Hill is ranked at #12.

After Hill’s victory over Walker (#10), Hill is expected to crack the top 10 this week. Even still, he would need to make a big jump if he is to surpass Oezdemir’s position. And even if he does, the pair will likely be close to one another in the rankings.

Shortly after Oezdemir’s tweet, Hill issues the following response:

“I mean that understandable with the brain damage you took in your last 2 fights!!! (1 against a guy making his debut) My hands will change your life think it’s a game and fuck around and find out!!!”

As Hill alluded to in his response, one reason why he may not have an interest in this fight is because of the contrasting trajectories the fighters are on. Hill has won two straight fights by knockout and three wins out of his last four while Oezdemir has lost two straight fights.

In fact, Hill has expressed that the only fight he is interested in next is against Ji?í Procházka. However, Procházka is currently slated to challenge Glover Teixeira next for the light heavyweight championship.

In any event, Hill’s closing line of “fuck around and find out” could certainly be interpreted as “Sweet Dreams” being willing to make time to try putting Volkan Oezdemir to sleep.

Would you be interested in seeing a fight between Volkan Oezdemir and Jamahal Hill next?

Continue Reading Volkan Oezdemir To Jamahal Hill: I’m Still Doubting You at MMA News.