In the co-main event of UFC 220, UFC light heavyweight champion Daniel Cormier attempted to defend his title opposite Swiss knockout artist Volkan “No Time” Oezdemir.
Though Oezdemir came out swinging, and seemed to frustrate the champ with his range and size, Cormier showed no fear, wading into a firefight with his stone-fisted challenger, and remarkably, wobbling him with a punch. From there, the champ turned to his world-class wrestling, executing a takedown, and threatening with a deep rear-naked choke in the final seconds of the round.
He’s hurt him!@DC_MMA is laying on the damage in the first! #UFC220 pic.twitter.com/zPmKFNIZbY
— UFC (@ufc) January 21, 2018
In the second, Cormier’s dominance only increased, as he quickly grounded the fight, climbed into full mount, and eventually, into a crucifix, where he pounded his foe’s face into applesauce. The champ gave the referee no choice but to wave off the fight, earning himself a lopsided second-round TKO win to retain the title.
#AndStill! @DC_MMA shows why he is the champ from START to FINISH! #UFC220 @WishShopping pic.twitter.com/WV0TsgyRau
— UFC (@ufc) January 21, 2018
With this win, Cormier rebounds from a knockout dealt by Jon Jones, which was overturned when Jones failed a drug test. The light heavyweight champ is clearly still in the prime of his fighting career, and would seem to have few viable challengers remaining in the talent-starved light heavyweight division. He is 20-1 overall.
Oezdemir, meanwhile, loses for the first time in the Octagon, after impressive defeats of Ovince Saint Preux, Misha Cirkunov and Jimi Manuwa. He’s 15-2 in sum.
What do you think is next for Daniel Cormier and Volkan Oezdemir?
This article first appeared on BJPenn.com on 1/20/2018.