After being pulled from the UFC Chile card as a result of on-going legal issues stemming from a bar room altercation last summer, Swiss fighter Volkan Oezdemir will move a little closer to home for his next UFC bout.
Oezdemir, a former title challenger at 205-pounds, will face former light heavyweight champion Mauricio ‘Shogun’ Rua in the featured bout of the UFC’s card in Hamburg, Germany, on July 22nd next, it has been confirmed by the organisation. The pair had been due to meet in the UFC’s first event in Chile but it was recently announced that a new date was being considered for the meeting of the two top-ranked light heavyweights.
‘Shogun’, one of the last remaining fighters from MMA’s legendary PRIDE era, is currently enjoying some of the best form of his career. His current run of three successive wins is the best current run among the ranked 205-pound fighters, with victories recorded against Gian Villante, Corey Anderson and Antonio Rogerio Nogueira.
Your #UFCHamburg main event! @Volkan_Oezdemir vs. @ShogunRua is official!!
Tickets on sale Friday ➡️ https://t.co/UqU9lnx6mV pic.twitter.com/2WMsaB4zsw
— UFC Europe (@UFCEurope) April 23, 2018
Oezdemir, meanwhile, is rebounding from a second round TKO defeat against Daniel Cormier last January in what was the Swiss’ first title shot in his UFC run. Prior to that he had put together a string of impressive wins against Jimi Manuwa, Misha Cirkunov and Ovince St. Preux.
UFC Fight Night 134 will take place in the Barclaycard Arena in Hamburg, Germany, on July 22nd. It is also expected to feature a heavyweight bout between Europeans Stefan Struve and Marcin Tybura, as well as a lightweight contest featuring Marc Diakese and Nasrat Haqparast.
