Volkan Oezdemir wrecks Ilir Latifi at UFC on ESPN+ 14 to get back on track
Volkan Oezdemir wrecked Ilir Latifi at UFC on ESPN+ 14 on Saturday in Montevideo, Uruguay, to get his skidding career back on track.
Oezdemir spent the early minutes of the fight walking Latifi down, landing numerous heavy blows. Latifi answered on occasion, but couldn't slow the Swiss fighter.
Midway through the second round, Oezdemir landed a knee that sent Latifi to the canvas. He immediately swarmed, but Latifi made his way to his feet. It would be short-lived survival, though, as Oezdemir did not slow down.
Once Latifi was back on his feet, Oezdemir kept after him, landing several more knees, punch combinations, and elbows, never letting his Swedish opponent back into the fight.
https://twitter.com/ufc/status/1160362290585071616?s=20
With 29 seconds left in the second frame, Oezdemir landed a left hook that sent Latifi back to the canvas. Oezdemir landed a couple more punches, making sure that the Swede would not return to his feet.
https://twitter.com/ufc/status/1160362873748541443?s=20
The victory ended a three-fight losing skid for Oezdemir, who got his first win since losing a UFC light heavyweight title bid opposite Daniel Cormier followed by losses to Anthony Smith and Dominick Reyes.
TRENDING > Tyron Woodley predicts Cris Cyborg will fight for the UFC in 2020 (video)
"I worked my way to a title shot in less than a year, maybe I was too green... but everything is starting to click together right now," said Oezdemir, who would like to pair up with either Jan Blachowicz or get a rematch with Reyes in his next fight.
"The most logical fight for me now would be Jan Blachowicz to get me close to a title shot again, but I would like get my revenge on Dominick Reyes. Everybody knows the fight wasn’t his, and I will prove it next time."