Volkan Oezdemir vs. Jiři Procházka in the works for UFC 251 on July 11th.
A high-stakes light heavyweight pairing between strikers, Volkan ‘No Time’ Oezdemir, and Jiři ‘Denisa’ Procházka is currently targeted to feature at UFC 251 on July 11th. – with ‘Fight Island’ in Abu Dhabi, expected to host the event.
The two were tentatively expected to meet in the co-headliner of UFC Fight Night Dublin in August – beneath a middleweight meeting of Robert Whittaker, and Darren Till until the card was shelved amid the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic.
On a two-fight rise, one-time title challenger, Oezdemir knocked back rising prospect, Aleksandar Rakić at UFC Fight Night Busan in December. Procházka will make his highly-anticipated promotional debut, after his signing from RIZIN FF back in January. News of the expected pairing was first reported by ESPN reporter, Brett Okamoto.
Oezdemir, 30 – will attempt to earn a second title tilt in the promotion, following a run of two straight wins. The Fribourg native took home the above-noted close split decision judging over Rakić, following a second-round knockout over Ilir Latifi at UFC Fight Night Montevideo last August. With twelve career stoppages via strikes, Oezdemir earned a UFC 220 meeting with then champion, Daniel Cormier, after finishing both Jimi Manuwa and Misha Cirkunov – both inside the opening minute.
In the midst of a ten fight winning spree, Czech Republic native, Procházka – a former RIZIN FF light heavyweight champion, will make his first Octagon appearance in July. The 27-year-old last competed at RIZIN 20 on New Year’s Eve – finishing UFC alumnus, C.B. Dollaway with strikes just before the two-minute mark.
Prior to that stoppage, the twenty-third of his career, Procházka had taken other notable wins over former Strikeforce 205-pound best, ‘King Mo’ Muhammad Lawal, another former Octagon contender, Fábio Maldonado, former Bellator middleweight titleholder, Brandon Halsey, as well as veteran submission-specialist, Satoshi Ishii.
Senior writer for FightBook MMA. An aspiring mixed martial arts reporter based in Ireland. Producer of news articles, interviews, opinion features, and exclusive features such as, ‘The Fallout’, ‘The Breakdown, and, ‘This Week In MMA’.