UFC veteran Volkan Oezdemir is focused on his path 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 victory in his last four fights – all of which came via finish. His only loss came at the hands of Carlos Ulberg, who, as we know, is believed to be about to get his own crack at the gold.
Long ago, Volkan Oezdemir challenged Daniel Cormier for the UFC light heavyweight title. He lost quite comprehensively via TKO in the second round, and although he has suffered his fair share of setbacks since then, the 36-year-old has never allowed himself to be distracted too much from his goal of winning the title. While there are plenty of big stars at 205 pounds, he firmly believes he has what it takes to go all the way one day.
In a post-fight interview, Volkan Oezdemir said the following about what he hopes the future holds for him.
Volkan Oezdemir wants another chance at the world title
“I’m flying now,” Oezdemir told UFC.com after the fight. “The fight was fast. This is exactly what I always want: I want spectacular fights, spectacular knockouts. This fight was to prove to the world that I deserve to be there. I have to climb back in the rankings, back to the top five, and my goal is the title, as always.”
“My first fight (in the UFC in 2017 against Ovince St. Preux) was against a guy who was ranked sixth at the time,” Oezdemir said. “My first fight was in the top 10, and I’ve never left the top 10. Now it’s been over eight years. I’m very happy to be there, but I don’t want to be ‘there.’ I want to dominate this game and my goal is to reach the title.
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
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