Volkan Oezdemir is currently undefeated under the UFC banner and is facing top ranked Jimi Manuwa at UFC 214.
The fighter believes a win over Manuwa may allow him to steal a shot at the UFC Light Heavyweight Title.
“It needs to be a nice knockout or some kind of huge stoppage, but I think that could potentially open up a title shot. Right now, Gustafsson probably has more credit after coming off such a good performance against Glover Teixeira. Of course, (Manuwa) is really a dangerous guy and he’s a really good fighter — that’s why he’s No. 2. He’s respected in the game, but that’s nothing that affects me. I’m confident in my abilities and I know what I’m going to do to him. The only thing I want to do is knock him out.” Oezdemir said to MMA Fighting.
Oezdemir has only competed twice thus far in the UFC, defeating Ovince St. Preux by decision and Misha Cirkunov by knockout. Even though he’s only two fights into his UFC career, the light heavyweight contender says that everything sounds like a dream thus far.
“Everything that’s happening to me at the moment sounds like a dream,” Oezdemir said. “There is a lot of work that people don’t see, though. I’ve been putting in a lot of work over the years. It’s finally coming together for me. The dream was always to be the UFC champion, and now that’s becoming a reality for me.”
UFC 214 takes place on Saturday, July 29 from the Honda Center in Anaheim, California with Daniel Cormier and Jon Jones headlining. Fightful is providing live coverage of the event, with a post-show podcast to follow.
