Tag: Volkan Oezdemir

UFC announces full ‘Fight Island’ lineup, includes 47 bouts in 15 days

“Fight Island” is real, and now the four cards that will take place there are real, as well.

“Fight Island” is real, and now the four cards that will take place there are real, as well.

UFC president Dana White today announced the complete lineup for the four cards that will take place next month in Yas Island, Abu Dhabi. The unique setup has been necessitated by the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, which has made it difficult to get international fighters into the U.S. to compete.

“I think this is going to be a really unique experience, not just for the fighters, but for us,” UFC president Dana White said during the announcement. “It’s going to be cool. It’s going to be something different. It’s never been done before, and however long this thing goes on, and however long it’s hard to get people in from other countries, we will have these fights at ‘Fight Island’ – Yas Island, Abu Dhabi.”

First up, it’s UFC 251 on July 11, which features a trio of title fights.

MAIN CARD (Pay-per-view, 10 p.m. ET)

  • Champ [autotag]Kamaru Usman[/autotag] vs. [autotag]Gilbert Burns[/autotag] – for welterweight title
  • Champ [autotag]Alexander Volkanovski[/autotag] vs. [autotag]Max Holloway[/autotag] – for featherweight title
  • [autotag]Petr Yan[/autotag] vs. [autotag]Jose Aldo[/autotag] – for vacant bantamweight title
  • [autotag]Jessica Andrade[/autotag] vs. [autotag]Rose Namajunas[/autotag]
  • [autotag]Amanda Ribas[/autotag] vs. [autotag]Paige VanZant[/autotag]

PRELIMINARY CARD (ESPN, ESPN+, 8 p.m. ET)

  • [autotag]Volkan Oezdemir[/autotag] vs. [autotag]Jiri Prochazka[/autotag]
  • [autotag]Muslim Salikhov[/autotag] vs. [autotag]Elizeu Zaleski dos Santos[/autotag]
  • [autotag]Makwan Amirkhani[/autotag] vs. [autotag]Danny Henry[/autotag]
  • [autotag]Roman Bogatov[/autotag] vs. [autotag]Leonardo Santos[/autotag]

PRELIMINARY CARD (ESPN, ESPN+, 6:15 p.m. ET)

  • [autotag]Alexander Romanov[/autotag] vs. [autotag]Marcin Tybura[/autotag]
  • [autotag]Raulian Paiva[/autotag] vs. [autotag]Zhalgas Zhumagulov[/autotag]
  • [autotag]Vanessa Melo[/autotag] vs. [autotag]Karol Rosa[/autotag]
  • [autotag]Martin Day[/autotag] vs. [autotag]Davey Grant[/autotag]
Calvin Kattar and Dan Ige

The promotion then returns on July 15 with an event headlined by featherweight contenders [autotag]Calvin Kattar[/autotag] (21-4 MMA, 5-2 UFC) and [autotag]Dan Ige[/autotag] (14-2 MMA, 6-1 UFC).

The complete lineup includes:

MAIN CARD (10 p.m. ET)

  • Calvin Kattar vs. Dan Ige
  • [autotag]Frankie Edgar[/autotag] vs. [autotag]Pedro Munhoz[/autotag]
  • [autotag]Carla Esparza[/autotag] vs. [autotag]Marina Rodriguez[/autotag]
  • [autotag]Abdul Razak Alhassan[/autotag] vs. [autotag]Mounir Lazzez[/autotag]
  • [autotag]Chris Fishgold[/autotag] vs. [autotag]Jared Gordon[/autotag]

PRELIMINARY (7 p.m. ET)

  • [autotag]Modestas Bukauskas[/autotag] vs. [autotag]Vinicius Moreira[/autotag]
  • [autotag]Molly McCann[/autotag] vs. [autotag]Taila Santos[/autotag]
  • [autotag]Lerone Murphy[/autotag] vs. [autotag]Ricardo Ramos[/autotag]
  • [autotag]John Phillips[/autotag] vs. [autotag]Dusko Todorovic[/autotag]
  • [autotag]Ryan Benoit[/autotag] vs. [autotag]Tim Elliott[/autotag]
  • [autotag]Diana Belbita[/autotag] vs. [autotag]Liana Jojua[/autotag]
Joseph Benavidez and Deiveson Figueiredo

Three days later, on July 18, the promotion hosts its third card in eight days, when top flyweight contenders [autotag]Deiveson Figueiredo[/autotag] (18-1 MMA, 7-1 UFC) and [autotag]Joseph Benavidez[/autotag] (28-6 MMA, 15-4 UFC) meet for a second time with the vacant UFC flyweight title on the line.

The full card includes:

MAIN CARD (9 p.m. ET)

  • Deiveson Figueiredo vs. Joseph Benavidez – for vacant flyweight title
  • [autotag]Kelvin Gastelum[/autotag] vs. [autotag]Jack Hermansson[/autotag]
  • [autotag]Marc Diakiese[/autotag] vs. [autotag]Rafael Fiziev[/autotag]
  • [autotag]Luana Carolina[/autotag] vs. [autotag]Ariane Lipski[/autotag]
  • [autotag]Askar Askarov[/autotag] vs. [autotag]Alexandre Pantoja[/autotag]

PRELIMINARY CARD (6 p.m. ET)

  • [autotag]Roman Dolidze[/autotag] vs. [autotag]Khadis Ibragimov[/autotag]
  • [autotag]Grant Dawson[/autotag] vs. [autotag]Nad Narimani[/autotag]
  • [autotag]Joel Alvarez[/autotag] vs. [autotag]Joe Duffy[/autotag]
  • [autotag]Montel Jackson[/autotag] vs. [autotag]Brett Johns[/autotag]
  • [autotag]Aleksander Doskalchuk[/autotag] vs. [autotag]Tagir Ulanbekov[/autotag]
  • [autotag]Davi Ramos[/autotag] vs. [autotag]Arman Tsarukyan[/autotag]
  • [autotag]Carlos Felipe[/autotag] vs. [autotag]Serghei Spivac[/autotag]
Darren Till and Robert Whittaker

Finally, the UFC’s run in Abu Dhabi ends on July 25 with a much-anticipated middleweight contest between former champion [autotag]Robert Whittaker[/autotag] (20-5 MMA, 11-3 UFC) and former welterweight title challenger [autotag]Darren Till[/autotag] (18-2-1 MMA, 6-2-1 UFC).

That night’s full lineup includes:

MAIN CARD

  • Robert Whittaker vs. Darren Till
  • [autotag]Antonio Rogerio Nogueira[/autotag] vs. [autotag]Mauricio Rua[/autotag]
  • [autotag]Alex Oliveira[/autotag] vs. [autotag]Peter Sobotta[/autotag]
  • [autotag]Alexander Gustafsson[/autotag] vs. [autotag]Fabricio Werdum[/autotag]
  • [autotag]Nicolas Dalby[/autotag] vs. [autotag]Danny Roberts[/autotag]

PRELIMINARY CARD

  • [autotag]Tom Aspinall[/autotag] vs. [autotag]Jake Collier[/autotag]
  • [autotag]Raphael Pessoa[/autotag] vs. [autotag]Justin Tafa[/autotag]
  • [autotag]Movsar Evloev[/autotag] vs. [autotag]Mike Grundy[/autotag]
  • [autotag]Bethe Correia[/autotag] vs. [autotag]Pannie Kianzad[/autotag]
  • [autotag]Umar Nurmagomedov[/autotag] vs. [autotag]Nathaniel Wood[/autotag]
  • [autotag]Ramazan Emeev[/autotag] vs. [autotag]Shavkat Rakhmonov[/autotag]

UFC finalizing fight between ex-Rizin champion Jiri Prochazka and Volkan Oezdemir for July 11

The UFC is targeting former RIZIN champion Jiri Prochazka vs. Volkan Oezdemir for its upcoming July 11 event.

The UFC is close to finalizing the promotional debut of former RIZIN light heavyweight champion [autotag]Jiri Prochazka[/autotag].

If all goes according to plan, Prochazka (26-3-1 MMA, 0-0 UFC) will make his first UFC walk July 11 against former UFC light heavyweight title challenger [autotag]Volkan Oezdemir[/autotag].

The event does not have an official location but falls under the timeframe UFC president Dana White has laid out for “Fight Island.”

A person with knowledge of the situation recently informed MMA Junkie of the targeted booking but asked to remain anonymous as the promotion has yet to make an official announcement. ESPN was first to report the news.

Before the coronavirus pandemic, Oezdemir (17-4 MMA, 5-3 UFC) vs. Prochazka already was being targeted for a summer event. However, due to travel restrictions, the bout was tabled during uncertain times.

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Oezdemir, 30, has won back-to-back fights against Ilir Latifi and Aleksander Rakic entering his July 11 matchup.

As for Prochazka, before his UFC signing, many thought he’d eventually face Bellator light heavyweight champion Ryan Bader given the promotion’s closeness to RIZIN.

As recently as early January, Bader called for a matchup against the surging 205 pounder. Instead, Prochazka, who is riding a 10-fight winning streak, signed with the UFC.

With the addition, the current lineup includes:

  • Amanda Ribas vs. Paige VanZant
  • Frankie Edgar vs. Pedro Munhoz
  • Shamil Abdurakhimov vs. Ciryl Gane
  • Volkan Oezdemir vs. Jiri Prochazka

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Volkan Oezdemir won’t bad-mouth Jon Jones, expects UFC champ to fight this year

Volkan Oezdemir is confident that Jon Jones will be able to rebound from his latest legal mishap and defend his belt sooner than later.

UFC light heavyweight [autotag]Volkan Oezdemir[/autotag] won’t revel in [autotag]Jon Jones[/autotag]’ continued legal and personal woes.

Oezdemir, a former title challenger, finds himself on the cusp of contention once again after picking up two straight wins over Ilir Latifi and Aleksandar Rakic.

Although he knows he likely needs a couple more solid wins to get another crack at the belt, he won’t trash Jones over his recent DWI as a method to try and get on the champion’s radar. Oezdemir is confident Jones competes this year if the UFC is able to hold events during the coronavirus outbreak.

“Every time there’s something coming up, and some people hit me up and send me links and stuff like that, and they’re like, ‘Oh, once again.’ But who cares?” Oezdemir told MMA Junkie. “For me, if he’s able to compete, everything is good with him, then it’s fine. I don’t want to be the one pointing the finger at … I don’t want to be talking about somebody like that in their down moment. But, yeah, I think he’s gonna be competing.

“Some people were talking about stripping him of the title, but I think this has nothing to do with it, and I think of course he deserves the title, because he’s the legitimate champion and obviously being the champion, he has to defend it. So hopefully we will see him fight again this year.”

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Unlike Oezdemir, Thiago Santos and Dominick Reyes – two fighters who took Jones to the brink but fell short – were quick to mock Jones for his recent mishaps. Both men are campaigning hard for a rematch, with Santos even suggesting a fight between him and Reyes for the vacant title.

But Oezdemir doesn’t think any of that is necessary as long as Jones is willing to fight.

“There were some talks about Thiago Santos and Reyes doing some interim title,” Oezdemir said. “It could be nice to give the division a new situation, but that’s only if Jones is away for some time or unwilling to fight, waiting for bigger fights. You never know.

“I’m not really into it. I’m not buying into it, because Jones has to be fighting this year, and I hope he does.”

Volkan Oezdemir accepts August fight with Jiri Prochazka, hopes it goes ahead on ‘Fight Island’

Volkan Oezdemir says a bout with Jiri Prochazka was in the works for Dublin in August. Now he hopes it will take place on ‘Fight Island’.

[autotag]Volkan Oezdemir[/autotag] revealed that a matchup with UFC newcomer [autotag]Jiri Prochazka[/autotag] was in the works for the promotion’s Dublin card in August.

Oezdemir (17-4 MMA, 5-3 UFC) was set to welcome former Rizin light heavyweight champion Prochazka (26-3 MMA, 0-0 UFC) to the UFC, but the coronavirus outbreak put a halt on negotiations.

“They offered me Jiri Prochazka, and I verbally accepted the fight,” Oezdemir told MMA Junkie. “Just for the moment right now, I didn’t get any proposal (or) fight offer. I was still doing my renewal of the contract and it took some time, and now finally it’s done and probably the fight contract will come after that.”

Former UFC light heavyweight title challenger Oezdemir snapped a three-fight losing skid with back-to-back wins over Ilir Latifi and Aleksandar Rakic to push him one step closer to the top of the division. But, due to visa issues, Oezdemir hasn’t been able to compete in the United States, which has made it difficult for him to draw most top contenders.

However, Oezdemir understands the situation that he’s in, and is trying to make the most of the opportunity in front of him.

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“For me, it’s good,” Oezdemir said. “I like this fight. The problem for Jiri is that he’s a newcomer, he was a champion in Japan, but I think the UFC has trouble finding opponents for him and at the same time, they have trouble finding opponents for me, so it’s like a situation where everything’s coming together.

“It’s a little difficult to match me for big fights because most of the big fights happen in the U.S., and for the moment it’s gonna be difficult for me, and a lot of people, they don’t want to be traveling. My last fight was in Korea, before that was in Uruguay. It’s like (it’s) always at the next end of the world, and the bigger crowd, the bigger place, is the U.S. That’s where the biggest fights are and it’s a little difficult for me because of that.”

While the UFC’s planned Dublin event is looking unlikely to proceed given the current circumstances of the global pandemic, Oezdemir said he would love it if his fight with Prochazka was relocated to Dana White’s now-infamous “Fight Island.”

“Definitely, ‘Fight Island’ sounds amazing,” Oezdemir said. “We’ve all been watching all those movies back in the day about tournaments on islands and stuff like that and it’s just great. Especially if they’re building what they say they’re building. A place to train on an unknown island for the moment, it’s dreamy. You cannot dream about that.”

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Volkan Oezdemir talks about who was going to be next fight, interested in fight island

Volkan Oezdemir talks Ji?í Procházka, interested in fight island and appreciative of UFC’s efforts to keep fights going.

Volkan Oezdemir talks Ji?í Procházka, interested in fight island and appreciative of UFC’s efforts to keep fights going.

Volkan Oezdemir eyes a fight with Thiago Santos or Alexander Gustafsson next

Volkan Oezdemir is content to wait and see how the top of the UFC light heavyweight division plays out before deciding on a next fight.

[autotag]Volkan Oezdemir[/autotag] has taken on stiff competition throughout his UFC career and plans on keeping it that way.

After dropping three straight fights, Oezdemir (17-4 MMA, 5-3 UFC) finds himself back on the road to title contention, with back-to-back wins over Ilir Latifi and Aleksandar Rakic. And with many pivotal light heavyweight matchups coming up, Oezdemir will wait to see how things play out.

“Nothing is fixed now. I have some personal stuff that I need to attend,” Oezdemir told MMA Junkie on Tuesday. “Plus all the big dogs in the division have a fight lined up, so I am training hard and waiting to see how things unfold.”

Oezdemir has two potential opponents in mind: Former UFC title challenger [autotag]Thiago Santos[/autotag], who’s currently healing from a torn ACL, and former two-time UFC title challenger [autotag]Alexander Gustafsson[/autotag], who recently expressed interest in coming out of retirement.

“Thiago Santos will be a fun fight that will bring a lot of fireworks, and I also still want the Gustafsson fight,” Oezdemir said. “I know he plays dead until he find an easy fight, but in the meantime I want to stay active and fight the stronger guy out there.”

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Constantly traveling and getting looks from all over the world, Oezdemir is currently training in Thailand.

“I love Thailand, and I love the training there,” Oezdemir said. “I went a few times with Alistair Overeem, and it’s the perfect location to go when it’s winter back home. You eat good, you train good, and you’re enjoying life. It’s a no-brainer.”

In his last outing in December, Oezdemir edged Rakic at UFC on ESPN+ 23, putting a halt to Rakic’s undefeated UFC winning streak. But “No Time” plans on leaving no doubt moving forward by putting guys away, which is what once propelled him to a title shot after just three UFC fights.

“Rakic started strong but lost momentum after the first round,” Oezdemir said. “I injured his leg, and it made him slow down a lot. It wasn’t a decisive victory, and this is something I don’t want to have in my future anymore. I’ve been on the wrong end of a split decision fight (Reyes), and this is because I didn’t do enough. My goal is to finish fights so there is nothing to be questioned about.”

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Oezdemir’s controversial split decision loss to Dominick Reyes, who challenges Jon Jones for the title Saturday, was a tough pill to swallow. It handed Oezdemir his third straight loss and helped push Reyes to a No. 1 contender fight against former UFC middleweight champ Chris Weidman.

The win over Weidman earned the undefeated Reyes a title shot against Jones, but Oezdemir thinks it’s highly unlikely the title will change hands.

“I think I took a lot out of him,” Oezdemir said. “He went AWOL after our fight and didn’t even text back his soon to be ex-new camp. He bounced back for his last fight, but he is up to a big task. I wish him luck, but I see Jones winning the fight.”

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UFC on ESPN+ 23 medical suspensions: Frankie Edgar could face six-month term after TKO

Six fighters are looking at potential six-month medical suspensions after UFC on ESPN+ 23, including former champion Frankie Edgar.

Six fighters are looking at potential six-month medical suspensions after UFC on ESPN+ 23, including former champion [autotag]Frankie Edgar[/autotag], who lost in the main event.

Edgar’s (23-8-1 MMA, 17-8-1 UFC) first-round TKO defeat to [autotag]Chan Sung Jung[/autotag] (16-5 MMA, 6-2 UFC) in this past weekend’s featherweight headliner led to an orbital injury that resulted in a 180-day suspension for “The Answer,” unless he receives clearance from a specialist beforehand.

MMA Junkie today obtained the full medical suspension report from UFC on ESPN+ 23, which went down at Sajik Arena in Busan, South Korea.

Check it out below.

* * * *

  • Chan Sung Jung: 7-day mandatory rest
    def. Frankie Edgar: Suspended 180 days for right orbital injury (requires clearance from oral and maxillofacial doctor); 60 days mandatory rest and 45 days of no contact
  • [autotag]Volkan Oezdemir[/autotag]: 30 days mandatory rest for hard bout; 21 days of no contact
    def. [autotag]Aleksandar Rakic[/autotag]: Suspended 180 days for left shin hematoma (requires clearance from primary care physician); 30 days mandatory rest
  • [autotag]Charles Jourdain[/autotag]: 30 days mandatory rest for hard bout; 21 days no contact
    def. [autotag]Dooho Choi[/autotag]: Suspended 180 days for TKO loss and left wrist injury (requires clearance from orthopedic doctor); 45 days mandatory rest and 30 days of no contact
  • [autotag]Da Un Jung[/autotag]: 7-day mandatory rest
    def. [autotag]Mike Rodriguez[/autotag]: Suspended 180 days (requires clearance form dentist); 45 days mandatory rest and 30 days of no contact
  • [autotag]Jun Yong Park[/autotag]: 7-day mandatory rest
    def. [autotag]Marc-Andre Barriault[/autotag]: Suspended 30 days for nasal laceration; 21 days of no contact
  • [autotag]Kyung Ho Kang[/autotag]: Suspended 30 days for left brow laceration; 21 days of no contact
    def. [autotag]Liu Pingyuan[/autotag]: Suspended 30 days for left eyelid laceration; 21 days of no contact
  • [autotag]Ciryl Gane[/autotag]: 7-day mandatory rest
    def. [autotag]Tanner Boser[/autotag]: Suspended 45 days for right eyelid laceration and hard bout;; 30 days of no contact
  • [autotag]Seungwoo Choi[/autotag]: $3,500
    def. [autotag]Suman Mokhtarian[/autotag]: $3,500
  • [autotag]Omar Morales[/autotag]: 7-day mandatory rest
    def. [autotag]Dong Hyun Ma[/autotag]: 30 days mandatory rest for hard bout; 21 days of no contact
  • [autotag]Alexandre Pantoja[/autotag]: Suspended 30 days for right shoulder pain; 21 days of no contact
    def. [autotag]Matt Schnell[/autotag]: Suspended 60 days for knockout loss; 30 days of no contact
  • [autotag]Raoni Barcelos[/autotag]: 30 days mandatory rest for hard bout; 21 days of no contact
    def. [autotag]Said Nurmagomedov[/autotag]: Suspended 30 days for right knee pain; 21 days of no contact
  • [autotag]Amanda Lemos[/autotag]: 7-day mandatory rest
    def. [autotag]Miranda Granger[/autotag]: 7-day mandatory rest
  • [autotag]Heili Alateng[/autotag]: Suspended 180 days for right foot injury (requires X-ray clearance); 30 days mandatory rest and 21 days of no contact
    def. [autotag]Ryan Benoit[/autotag]: Suspended 180 days for right foot injury (requires X-ray clearance); 30 days mandatory rest and 21 days of no contact

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Aleksandar Rakic reacts to Volkan Oezdemir loss: ‘We all know who the real winner is’

Aleksandar Rakic reacts to his split decision loss to Volkan Oezdemir at UFC on ESPN+ 23.

[autotag]Aleksandar Rakic[/autotag] thinks he got robbed.

Rakic (17-4 MMA, 5-3 UFC) was narrowly defeated by [autotag]Volkan Oezdemir[/autotag] (12-2 MMA, 4-1 UFC) this past weekend in the co-main event of UFC on ESPN+ 23, suffering his first loss in the UFC.

Known for fast starts, Rakic came out aggressively and landed solid shots, testing Oezdemir’s chin early. But perfectly executed leg kicks by Oezdemir paid dividends in the latter rounds, as he was able to slow down Rakic’s offense, causing a massive welt on his leg.

Both fighters continued to trade throughout the fight, but after the scorecards were rendered, Oezdemir was awarded the split decision win after three hard-fought rounds.

It was Rakic’s first loss in over eight years, a fight he’s confident he won. He took to Instagram to share his thoughts.

That is the feeling what i have right NOW!!
He won on the papers but we all know who the REAL winner is.
No Excuses i will work my ass off to show my fans what I am capable of. 🚀🚀🚀

After a 4-0 start in the UFC and back-to-back finishes, Rakic was emerging as one of the top light heavyweight contenders. The loss to Oezdemir is a hard pill to swallow for the 27-year-old Austrian, who saw a momentary halt to his momentum.

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