“I learned a lot,” he added. He deserves his legacy. UFC 220 results, highlights: Daniel Cormier dominates Volkan Oezdemir to retain title DC put on a vintage performance to remain the light heavyweight champion on Saturday in Boston 12:15 am ET, UFC 220: Cormier dominates Oezdemir to retain title, Gaethje plans to 'ruin the day' of White, Khabib, more, Conor McGregor accepts date to fight Dustin Poirier, Bellator signs only bantamweight to beat Yan, Buckley scores an all-time great UFC knockout, Sterling vs. Yan planned for UFC 256 in December, Nurmagomedov vs. Ferguson fight set for UFC 249 in April, McGregor set to return at UFC 246 in January vs. 'Cowboy', Wheili Zhang vs. Joanna official for UFC 248 in March. You did a fantastic job young man. Cormier and Oezdemir clash in the first of two gigantic title fights at the first UFC pay-per-view of the year. The UFC's pay-per-view schedule got off to a weak start in 2017. Pantoja via unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28), Dan Ige vs. Julio Arce (men’s featherweight bout) - Arce def. Express. Cormier finished the round by taking Oezdemir's back and appeared on the verge of forcing a submission until the challenger was saved by the horn. Maybe we've just underestimated which level Oezdemir is on. “And I was just hoping that I could be the man to take it from him.”. Oezdemir's rise to UFC title challenger has been completely out of left field. Bessette via unanimous decision (30-27, 29-28, 29-28), Islam Makhachev vs. Gleison Tibau (lightweight bout) - Makhachev def. And as devastating as Oezdemir's striking can be, he has never faced an opponent who will back him up as much as Cormier -- who has perfected his form of pressure against elite heavyweights and an all-time great in Jon Jones. Leading up to this weekend, Cormier has repeatedly stated "there are levels" to mixed martial arts, and Oezdemir simply isn't on his. Stylistically, however, Cormier is a nightmare matchup. section: | slug: ufc-220-results-highlights-daniel-cormier-dominates-volkan-oezdemir-to-retain-title | sport: mma | route: article_single.us | "We trained ground, but it was mostly defensive. Saturday's UFC 220 event in Boston will feature one of the company's best heavyweight title matchups in years, with defending champion Stipe Miocic taking on Francis Ngannou. Daniel Cormier is coming off … And expect that to wear on Oezdemir's endurance and psyche. Homasi via KO (punch) - Round 1, 3:47, Dustin Ortiz vs. Alexandre Pantoja (men’s flyweight bout) - Ortiz def. But the champion stayed poised and began to slowly close distance as Oezdemir fatigued. Rob Font (men’s bantamweight bout) - Font def. He loves to move forward and is at his best when doing so. newspaper archive. He’s a great champ. I felt strong. The victory was the first for Cormier (20-1, 1 NC) since losing his title in a rematch last July to Jon Jones, only to be given back his belt when the former champion tested positive for anabolic steroids. On the other hand, it's fair to ask how Oezdemir will look if that early knockout doesn't come. “I’m also happy that he was able to prove to himself and everybody (that he’s the best). He took down Oezdemir with ease and began to land a series of unanswered strikes from the crucifix position until referee Kevin MacDonald finally stepped in. Almeida via TKO (punches) - Round 2, 2:24, Kyle Bochniak vs. Brandon Davis (men’s featherweight bout) - Bochniak def. There are supposed to be levels in this, right? Volkan Oezdemir earned his light heavyweight title shot with a breakout 2017 campaign that included finishes of Jimi Manuwa and Misha Cirkunov in a combined 70 seconds. "I go through a lot of stuff. “But definitely now I know what I can do to improve. Daniel Cormier (19-1) vs. Volkan Oezdemir (15-1), light heavyweight championship. There's arguably a "fluke-ish" element to that type of win, except Oezdemir has a history of them. See today's front and back pages, download the newspaper, There wasn't much knowledge of it. “My game has improved a lot. When Cormier said that, it was understandable. Jeff Cain. © 2004-2020 CBS Interactive. The Switzerland native challenged Daniel Cormier for the 205lbs title in the co-main event of UFC 220, which took place in the early hours of the morning. Light heavyweight champion Daniel Cormier … Look at all the latest videos: live broadcasts of battles, a selection of the best moments and knockouts In the co-main event, Daniel Cormier faces first-time title challenger Volkan Oezdemir. Chrissy Blair, Brittney Palmer and Arianna Celeste. Oezdemir wasn't supposed to be an elite, well-rounded light heavyweight in 2017. Tibau via KO (punch) - Round 1, 0:57. Oezdemir (15-2), who entered the bout fresh off a trio of 2017 UFC victories, including two knockouts in under 42 seconds, opened Round 1 by flashing his scary aggression. BOSTON – Daniel Cormier retained the light heavyweight title Saturday night with what proved to be a dominant win over upstart challenger Volkan Oezdemir. "For the majority of my career, my training was mostly kickboxing," Oezdemir said. He invites collisions and doesn't need much room to generate power. Oezdemir's long list of early finishes suggests an aggressive striking style, which is accurate. In the lone loss of Oezdemir's career, to Kelly Anundson in 2014, he was repeatedly slammed to the mat, losing one positional battle after another. When Oezdemir got a call from the UFC in early 2017, asking if would take a fight against Ovince Saint Preux on short notice, many assumed he had no shot. "I proved that I am worthy of being called champion but Volkan is on the level," Cormier said. Cormier (20-1 MMA, 9-1 UFC) took Oezdemir (15-2 MMA, 3-1 UFC) out with a second-round TKO that stemmed from a takedown, which turned into an onslaught of ground-and-pound that the challenger had no defense for. We bring sports news that matters to your inbox, to help you stay informed and get a winning edge. It's a shot at history for Miocic as he tries to become the first heavyweight titleholder to defend the belt three consecutive times. I've lost twice to Jon Jones and I said, as I came into this fight, I felt as if I was fighting for a vacant title again because he beat me last time. He has only been training MMA full time since 2015, which was the year the Switzerland native accepted an invitation to South Florida to be a training partner for former UFC contender Anthony Johnson. Oezdemir responded by edging Saint Preux in a decision and then posting back-to-back, sub-minute knockouts of Misha Cirkunov and Jimi Manuwa. And he'll do so against Ngannou, one of the fastest-rising challengers in recent memory. Volkan Oezdemir (born 19 September 1989) is a Swiss professional mixed martial artist and former kickboxing practitioner competing in the Light heavyweight division of the Ultimate Fighting Championship.A professional competitor since 2010, Oezdemir formerly competed for Bellator.As a kickboxing practitioner, he competed for Superkombat Fighting Championship in their heavyweight … Sometimes a 15-minute win is more impressive than a 28-second win, because the fighter gets to showcase a whole lot more. "I've had so much improvement, I'm a different animal now.". It wasn't that long ago he was merely a sparring partner for another, more promising, title contender. Odds: Cormier -300; Oezdemir +270. Oezdemir via TKO (punches) Round 2, 2:00, Calvin Kattar vs Shane Burgos (featherweight bout) - Kalvin Kattar def. In the co-main event of UFC 220, Daniel Cormier will defend his UFC Light Heavyweight Championship against Volkan Oezdemir. For whatever drama existed to open the fight, Cormier made sure it was gone in Round 2. By relying on dirty boxing from the clinch to set up his takedowns, Cormier weathered an early storm to finish Oezdemir via second-round TKO in the co-main event at TD Garden. CBS Sports is a registered trademark of CBS Broadcasting Inc. Commissioner.com is a registered trademark of CBS Interactive Inc. site: media | arena: mma | pageType: stories | 2018 MMA fight – Daniel Cormier vs Volkan Oezdemir – full fight Video UFC 220 Posted on 2018/01/21 ATBF full fight video Review by AllTheBestFights.com : 2018-01-20, good fight between Daniel Cormier and Volkan Oezdemir : it gets three stars (UFC Performance of the Night). Although he came out on the wrong side of the result, Oezdemir believes his bout with Cormier will serve as a learning curve. It's the first light heavyweight title fight since Jon Jones was stripped of his belt for the third time -- in this case, due to a failed drug test. You can find the best odds for this co-main event at BetOnline. Covering the impact of coronavirus on the sports world, Throughout the buildup to UFC 220, light heavyweight champion Daniel Cormier reminded anyone hyping up Volkan Oezdemir's scary punching power that "there are levels to this.". UFC 220 is a big card with two big titles: heavyweights Stipe Miocic and Francis Ngannou competing for the heavyweight belt, and Daniel Cormier vs. Volkan Oezdemir for … A disappointed Oezdemir was full of praise for his opponent in the post-fight press conference, saying: “Cormier was the better man tonight. Home of the Daily and Sunday Express. It was a truly improbable year for Oezdemir that no one saw coming. There are two ways of looking at Oezdemir's sub-minute knockouts against Cirkunov and Manuwa. 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