UFC 220: Volkan Oezdemir hails Daniel Cormier: He was the better man tonight
VOLKAN OEZDEMIR is gutted to have missed out on the opportunity to win the UFC light-heavyweight title.
Volkan Oezdemir at the UFC 220 weigh-ins
The Switzerland native challenged Daniel Cormier for the 205lbs title in the co-main event of UFC 220, which took place in the early hours of the morning.
Oezdemir entered the contest full of confidence following back-to-back first-round KO victories over Mischa Cirkunov and Jimi Manuwa.
However, his pursuit of UFC gold bore no fruit as he suffered a second-round TKO defeat to Cormier, who successfully began the job of erasing his UFC 214 loss to Jon Jones.
A disappointed Oezdemir was full of praise for his opponent in the post-fight press conference, saying: “Cormier was the better man tonight. He’s a great champ.
Cormier was the better man tonight
“I’m also happy that he was able to prove to himself and everybody (that he’s the best). He deserves his legacy.
“And I was just hoping that I could be the man to take it from him.”
Although he came out on the wrong side of the result, Oezdemir believes his bout with Cormier will serve as a learning curve.
“I learned a lot,” he added. “My game has improved a lot. I felt strong.
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“But definitely now I know what I can do to improve. And I’ll improve back in the gym on Tuesday.”
UFC 220: Miocic vs Ngannou Results
Main card
Stipe Miocic vs Francis Ngannou (heavyweight title fight) - Miocic def. Ngannou via unanimous decision (50-44, 50-44, 50-44)
Daniel Cormier vs Volkan Oezdemir (light-heavyweight title fight) - Cormier def. Oezdemir via TKO (punches) Round 2, 2:00
Calvin Kattar vs Shane Burgos (featherweight bout) - Kalvin Kattar def. Shane Burgos via TKO (punches), Round 3, 0:32
Gian Villante vs Francimar Barroso (light-heavyweight bout) - Villante def. Barroso via split decision (30-27, 28-29, 30-27)
Thomas Almeida vs. Rob Font (men’s bantamweight bout) - Font def. Almeida via TKO (punches) - Round 2, 2:24
Volkan Oezdemir suffered a second-round TKO loss to Daniel Cormier in UFC 220's co-main event
Prelims
Kyle Bochniak vs. Brandon Davis (men’s featherweight bout) - Bochniak def. Davis via unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 30-27)
Abdul Razak Alhassan vs. Sabah Homasi (welterweight bout) - Alhassan def. Homasi via KO (punch) - Round 1, 3:47
Dustin Ortiz vs. Alexandre Pantoja (men’s flyweight bout) - Ortiz def. Pantoja via unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28)
Dan Ige vs. Julio Arce (men’s featherweight bout) - Arce def. Ige via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 29-28)
Enrique Barzola vs. Matt Bessette (men’s featherweight bout) - Barzola def. Bessette via unanimous decision (30-27, 29-28, 29-28)
Islam Makhachev vs. Gleison Tibau (lightweight bout) - Makhachev def. Tibau via KO (punch) - Round 1, 0:57