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Volkan Oezdemir and Nikita Krylov find themselves on the same card again, this time as opponents.
The UFC announced Friday that Oezdemir (18-6) is set to fight Krylov (28-9) in a light heavyweight bout at UFC 280, which takes place Oct. 22 at Etihad Arena in Abu Dhabi. Both fighters snapped two-fight losing streaks with wins at UFC London this past July.
This booking comes two years after Oezdemir and Krylov were scheduled to fight one another in Abu Dhabi in October 2020. Oezdemir was forced to withdraw from that date due to a knee injury.
Oezdemir — a one-time UFC light heavyweight title challenger currently ranked No. 11 in MMA Fighting’s Global Rankings — won a unanimous decision over Paul Craig to halt the submission specialist’s six-fight unbeaten streak. That win boosted Oezdemir’s UFC record back over the .500 mark at 6-5. It was his first victory since eking out a split decision win over Aleksandar Rakic in December 2019.
Krylov picked up a win over a three-time UFC title challenger in London, needing just 67 seconds to finish Alexander Gustafsson via strikes. “The Miner” is now 9-7 inside the octagon.
UFC 280 is headlined by a pair of championship bouts. In the main event, Charles Oliveira fights Islam Makhachev for a vacant lightweight title, while the co-main event sees Aljamain Sterling defend his bantamweight title against two-time UFC champion T.J. Dillashaw.