Volkan Oezdemir made his UFC debut at UFC Fight Night 104 as a late replacement for the injured Jan Blachowicz. Oezdemir pulled a huge upset at the event, when he defeated the #6 ranked Ovince St. Preux by controversial split decision.
“It played out nice,” Oezdemir said to MMA Junkie. “I came for a fast finish. I tried to get it in the first round, but ‘OSP’ is tough. He’s very tough. He played his game. He rocked me a few times with some nice shots, but I give it back to him. It was back-and-forth, but I love this type of fight where I can get hit a little bit.”
Oezdemir wasn’t the only fighter to upset a ranked opponent that evening, as both Chan Sung Jung and Felice Herrig accomplished the same thing. Upset win in the rear view mirror, Oezdemir now wants to move up in the rankings as quickly as possible.
“I want to climb the ranks,” Oezdemir said. “I don’t know where my rank is going to be because I wasn’t even existent before this fight. I don’t know. I hope people count on me a little bit. I’m here. I want to also promote UFC in my country and promote MMA. I want to start something. My country is a good country, and there are good people and a lot of rich people. We can do something.”
Oezdemir is also a veteran of the Bellator MMA promotion and he has earned a grand total of ten wins via a first round finish.
