The Film Room: Volkan Oezdemir

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Volkan Oezdemir will take to the Octagon Saturday when he locks horns with Anthony Smith in the main event of UFC Fight Night 138. Oezdemir had a meteoric rise in the light heavyweight division when he earned a title shot against Daniel Cormier less than a year into his UFC tenure. After a devastating loss, Oezdemir is now looking to get back into the title picture with a win over the surging Smith.

‘No Time’

Oezdemir burst onto the light heavyweight scene early last year when he took on Ovince St. Preux on short notice and won a split decision as a heavy underdog. He proved to be the aggressive, heavy hitter the division desperately needed, but nobody expected his rise to stardom would be this quick.



His nickname is “No Time” for a reason. He is always the leading attacker and constantly blitzes forward with wild combos looking for the finish, even if it means putting himself out of position to defend incoming strikes. This isn't the smartest way to approach a fight, but his aggressiveness and power coupled with the ability to take a punch has been enough to overwhelm most opponents.



Although his aggressive leading attacks are what got him to the dance, his knockout power from seemingly soft punches is the reason for his rapid rise. Oezdemir came into the fight with Misha Cirkunov as one of the biggest underdogs on the card and face planted him in 30 seconds with one of the least powerful-looking punches you will ever see. Everybody brushed it off as a fluke win but then just two months later he did it again against top-ranked Jimi Manuwa to earn a title shot.



But everyone eventually meets their Waterloo and Cormier perfectly exploited the holes we knew Oezdemir had in his game. On the regional scene, Oezdemir’s grappling was good enough to hold his own against most opponents, but his deficiencies were quickly exploited once he signed with Bellator MMA in 2013. He often looks completely lost on the ground and has some of the worst takedown defense in the division. If the fight hits the ground, his only chance is to lock down his opponent and hope for a stand-up.



Oezdemir also has his fair share of flaws on the feet. Although his aggressive leads are where he does his best work, it can also be his biggest undoing. There is a major difference between someone who fights aggressive and someone who fights wild. Jon Jones would be considered an aggressive fighter, but he rarely puts himself out of position and almost always stays defensively responsible. Oezdemir, on the other hand, is wild. He constantly puts himself in positions to be countered and often squares his stance and crosses his feet when coming forward, all the while dropping his hands when throwing standard wide hooks to the head. His striking difficulties have only been exploited in brief moments, but Smith might be the man to match the aggressiveness and come up with a game plan to capitalize on his weaknesses standing.