Volkan Oezdemir met the media Saturday after his win over Alonzo Menifield at UFC Fight Night 265.
Oezdemir (21-8 MMA, 9-7 UFC) put away Menifield (17-6-1 MMA, 10-6-1 UFC) with a first-round TKO on the main card at ABHA Arena in Doha, Qatar. The finish got the 36-year-old Swiss fighter back in the win column after a loss to Carlos Ulberg a year ago.
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Oezdemir now has three wins in his past four fights, and said it’s not too late in his career for him to make another run at the light heavyweight title.
“I’m flying right now,” Oezdemir told UFC.com after the fight. “The fight was quick. This is exactly what I want all the time: I want spectacular fights, spectacular knockouts. This fight was to prove to the world that I deserve to be there. I need to climb back through the rankings, back to the top five, and my goal is the belt, like always.”
In January, it will be eight years since Oezdemir challenged then-champion Daniel Cormier for the 205-pound title at UFC 220. He was knocked out in the second round, and the setback started a three-fight skid and a run of five losses in seven fights.
The consolation prize from those five losses is they came in a title fight, then four to future light heavyweight title challengers and eventual champions. But moral victories don’t rise fighters up in the rankings.
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“My first fight (in the UFC in 2017 against Ovince St. Preux) was against a guy who was ranked (No.) 6 at the time,” Oezdemir said. “My first fight was in the top 10, and I never left the top 10. Now it’s been more than eight years. I’m very happy to be there, but I don’t want to be ‘there.’ I want to be dominating this game, and my goal is to reach the belt.
“I want to fight Jamahal Hill or (Jan) Blachowicz. Blachowicz has a fight coming up (at UFC 323 against Bogdan Guskov), so we’ll see. But Jamahal Hill is definitely on my list.”
Check out Oezdemir’s post-fight interview in the video below.
This article originally appeared on MMA Junkie: 8 years after title shot, Volkan Oezdemir eyes another after UFC Qatar
