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Magomed Ankalaev appears to be set to throw down with a former UFC title contender in Volkan Oezdemir.
Red Fury MMA is reporting that Ankalaev vs. Oezdemir is on tap for a UFC event in August.
“According to numerous sources, Magomed Ankalaev vs. Volkan Oezdemir is planned to be held in August.”
Ankalaev is currently ranked ahead of Oezdemir at number seven on the official UFC Light Heavyweight rankings. Oezedmir is just behind at the eighth spot. Despite being ahead in the rankings, this will be the biggest opportunity Ankalaev has had. If he can defeat a former UFC title challenger, especially in devastating fashion, it may set him up for a top-five opponent.
This is also a crucial fight for Oezdemir. He has gone 2-4 in his last six outings. “No Time” was also to snap a three-fight losing streak, defeating Ilir Latifi and then Aleksandar Rakić. He was then knocked out by Jiří Procházka.
Ankalaev brings with him a pro MMA record of 15-1. He is riding a six-fight winning streak. The lone loss of Ankalaev’s career was back in March 2018 when he was submitted by Paul Craig in his UFC debut.
Oezdemir’s record is 17-5. Back in January 2018, he challenged Daniel Cormier for the UFC Light Heavyweight Championship. He received the title shot after first-round knockout wins over Misha Cirkunov and Jimi Manuwa. Neither bout lasted one minute. Ultimately, Cormier stopped Oezdemir via second-round TKO.