Video: Volkan Oezdemir starches Johnny Walker to open UFC Saudi Arabia main card
The Ultimate Fighting Championship returns to us today, June 22, 2024, for UFC Saudi Arabia / UFC on ABC 6, going down live from the Kingdom Arena in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.
Headlining the event is a 185 lb clash between no. 3 ranked former UFC middleweight champion Robert Whittaker (25-7) and Ikram Aliskerov (15-1). Whittaker was originally slated to face no. 11 ranked Khamzat Chimaev in this evening’s main event, though Chimaev was forced from the bout with an illness and replaced by one of his former foes in Aliskerov.
Co-headlining the event is a heavyweight bout between no. 3 ranked former FNG heavyweight champion Sergei Pavlovich (18-2) and no. 5 ranked former Bellator and M-1 Challenge heavyweight champion Alexander Volkov (37-10).
Opening up the main card this afternoon was a light-heavyweight affair between no. 7 ranked Johnny Walker (21-9) and no. 9 ranked former title challenger Volkan Oezdemir (20-7).
Walker came into the bout off a knockout defeat to another former title challenger in no. 2 ranked Magomed Ankalaev earlier this year in January, a rematch of their October clash that resulted in a no contest; prior to that he’d gone 3-0 since September of 2022 with wins over Ion Cutelaba (rear naked choke), Paul Craig (TKO), and former title challenger Anthony Smith (UD).
Oezdemir on the other hand came in having gone 2-1 since July of 2022 with a win over Paul Craig (UD), a defeat to Nikita Krylov (UD), and most recently a win over Bogdan Guskov (rear naked choke) this past September.
Continue reading to see how our UFC Saudi Arabia main card opener went down:
Official Result: Volkan Oezdemir def. Johnny Walker via KO (punches) at 2:28 of round one
Oezdemir closed the distance with his boxing immediately once the bout began, backing Walker up and landing a heavy combination right out of the gate. He continued to control the center and pressure Walker from here, landing a nasty shovel hook combination before again going upstairs with it.
Oezdemir couldn’t miss in this one, soon after landing a left hook before a right that dropped Walker. The Brazilian dropped and Oezdemir landed a single ground strike for good measure, putting Walker out cold midway through the opening round.
VOLKAN OEZDEMIR SLEEPS JOHNNY WALKER 💥 #UFCSaudiArabia pic.twitter.com/VXaXb4rN7f
— ESPN MMA (@espnmma) June 22, 2024
At nearly 35 years of age this is the best Volkan Oezdemir has ever looked, what an incredible performance by him today at UFC Saudi Arabia.
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