Volkan Oezdemir is hunting for another UFC light heavyweight title shot
UFC veteran Volkan Oezdemir is focused on working his way back to a shot at the UFC light heavyweight championship in the wake of his win at UFC Qatar.
Last weekend at UFC Qatar, Volkan Oezdemir got himself back in the win column in a big way. He defeated Alonzo Menifield via knockout, marking his third win in his last four fights – all of which came via finish. His only loss was at the hands of Carlos Ulberg who, as we know, is considered to be on the verge of earning his own crack at the gold right now.
Way back in the day, Volkan Oezdemir challenged Daniel Cormier for the UFC light heavyweight title. He lost pretty comprehensively via second round TKO, and while he has had his fair share of setbacks ever since then, the 36-year-old has never let himself get too distracted from his goal of winning the belt. While there are plenty of big stars at 205 pounds, he firmly believes that he has what it takes to go all the way one day.
In a post-fight interview, Volkan Oezdemir had the following to say about what he hopes the future holds for him.
Volkan Oezdemir wants another world title shot
“I’m flying right now,” Oezdemir told UFC.com after the fight. “The fight was quick. This is exactly what I want all the time: I want spectacular fights, spectacular knockouts. This fight was to prove to the world that I deserve to be there. I need to climb back through the rankings, back to the top five, and my goal is the belt, like always.”
“My first fight (in the UFC in 2017 against Ovince St. Preux) was against a guy who was ranked (No.) 6 at the time,” Oezdemir said. “My first fight was in the top 10, and I never left the top 10. Now it’s been more than eight years. I’m very happy to be there, but I don’t want to be ‘there.’ I want to be dominating this game, and my goal is to reach the belt.
I want to fight Jamahal Hill or (Jan) Blachowicz. Blachowicz has a fight coming up (at UFC 323 against Bogdan Guskov), so we’ll see. But Jamahal Hill is definitely on my list.”
Quotes via MMA Junkie
