Volkan Oezdemir knows his UFC 251 fight against the promotional newcomer, Jiri Prochazka, will end by knockout.
Prochazka is the former RIZIN light heavyweight champ and both he and Oezdemir are known as knockout artists. Yet, for the Swiss native, he says when the fight was originally offered he didn’t love the idea of fighting an unranked opponent. But, he knows he is a tough foe. So, he’s eager for the opportunity to welcome him to the Octagon.
“I mean the UFC offered me Jiri before and it wasn’t really an interesting fight for me at the moment. It was at the end of February or something like this,” Oezdemir said on Just Scrap Radio on BJPENN.com. “I was still Thailand and he wasn’t ranked. I didn’t say no but I was still trying to push for bigger names. I’ve been trying to get Thiago Santos or Dominick Reyes to name a few. Nothing really materialized and then I have a tough and weird situation as I can’t fight in the US.
“All these top guys don’t want to travel. I’ve been fighting all around the world, just last my two fights have been in Uruguay and South Korea,” he continued. “I have to do what I have to do and Jiri was in the same spot. No one wanted to fight him and I was looking for the fight and we made it happen. It doesn’t matter to me. If you want to fight, you have to fight.”
[brid autoplay=”true” video=”593326″ player=”22947″ title=”Just Scrap Radio Ep. 1 (w Volkanovski Oezdemir & Edgar)” duration=”3062″ description=”Just Scrap Radio exclusive interview with Alexander Volkanovski, Volkan Oezdemir and Frankie Edgar” uploaddate=”2020-06-30 18:45:08″ thumbnailurl=”https://cdn.brid.tv/live/partners/15717/thumb/593326_t_1593543078.png” contentUrl=”https://cdn.brid.tv/live/partners/15717/sd/593326.mp4″”]
For Oezdemir, he said he wanted to compete on Fight Island and is excited he has the chance to be on this stacked card. He knows there will be a ton of viewers and knows his scrap will not be going the distance.
“Jiri has been knocking people out and has been knocked out once. We are both knockout artists and go for the kill. This is not a fight that will go the full three rounds,” he explained. “He stands and bang, he’s not like the last people I’ve been fighting who like to run and don’t want to get hit. But, that is what will cause him a lot of trouble.
“Jiri is unranked but it will get me a lot of hype,” Oezdemir later added. “I’m looking for a big knockout win. With a hype behind you, you are getting close to a big fight.
If Volkan Oezdemir does knockout Prochazka, he knows that will be a big win for him. He also has the confidence back and knows a win at UFC 251 will put him in that title conversation.
“Just making a big statement in my fight will bring me closer to the belt. We have to see what unfolds with the Jon Jones situation, like Dominick Reyes and Jan or Thiago Santos are willing to fight for the interim title,” he said. “There is a lot of things happening and we still don’t know what is going to result out of this. With a big statement win, I will get closer to a title shot again.”
In the end, Volkan Oezdemir is confident he will get his hand raised and extend his winning streak to three. He also believes a win here gets him one or two wins away from a title where he has his eyes on two opponents.
“Thiago Santos, I’ve been wanting to fight him and Dominick Reyes I need my rematch,” he concluded.
Do you think Volkan Oezdemir will be able to KO Jiri Prochazka as he says?