Volkan Oezdemir came out victorious over Johnny Walker at UFC Fight Night: Whittaker vs Aliskerov. The MMA event aired live from Kingdom Arena in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia on Saturday, June 22.
The scheduled for three rounds light heavyweight bout didn’t go the distance. The former 205-pound title challenger of Switzerland claimed the win by knockout.
Oezdemir first clipped Walker with a right hand, when the latter was attempting to deliver a flying knee. He then landed a repeated left hook followed by a big right uppercut that dropped his opponent of Brazil to the canvas. Another big right punch, and referee Jason Herzog stepped in to call it a day. The official time of stoppage was 2 minutes and 28 seconds into the first round.
With the victory by KO, Volkan Oezdemir improved to 20-7. The 34-year-old made his first Octagon appearance for the year and secured the second win in a row. In his post-fight interview he said he was looking to fight the top-ranked opponents and once again challenge for the belt.
Johnny Walker dropped to 21-9, 1 NC. The 32-year-old fought for the second time in 2024 and suffered his second straight defeat.
“It feels great guys, ‘No Time’ is back, let’s go,” Oezdemir told Daniel Cormier.
“The uppercut was key with him. I know I had to take my time. He’s a little bit crazy, you know, in the in the first two minutes. That’s Johnny Walker, man, he’s a crazy guy. So, I knew I had to watch out, take my time a little bit and land those shots.”
“My only direction is the top guys. The belt is my is my destiny now. The next guy I want to fight might be Jamahal Hill, [Jan] Blachowicz, I really don’t give a f***. I need somebody on the top.”
Get UFC Saudi Arabia: Whittaker vs Aliskerov full card results.