UFC London features a light heavyweight fight between Paul Craig and Volkan Oezdemir on the main card. It’ll be an exciting contest between two veterans in the light heavyweight division.
Craig has been destroying his opponents lately with brutal submissions. On the other hand, Volkan Oezdemir can be a threat to Craig’s winning streak with his striking. But who is going to come out victorious at UFC London?
Paul Craig vs Volkan Oezdemir stats
Paul Craig:
Wins/Losses- 16/4
Finishes- 16 (13 submissions)
Height- 6’4
Reach- 76 inches
Maor wins in UFC- Nikita Krylov, Jamahal Hill, Mauricio Rua, Magomed Ankalaev
Volkan Oezdemir:
Wins/Losses- 17/6
Finishes- 13 (12 KO/TKOs)
Height- 6’1
Reach- 75 inches
Maor wins in UFC- Aleksander Rakic, Ilir Latifi
Can Volkan Oezdemir overcome Paul Craig’s Grappling and Submissions?
Not so long Paul Craig took on Jamahal Hill, who is still a rising star in the division. Hill was a favorite to win the fight against Craig. However, the swedish mixed martial artist broke Hill’s arm with a nasty armbar.
Following that win, Paul secured another submission aaginst Nikita Krylov, who is an underrated veteran in the divison. Even though Krylov rocked Craig early in the round he got caught with a quick triangle choke in the first round.
Craig’s nickname is Breajaw and lately he has been living up to that name. Though Oezdemir has shown good awarness on ground in his career so far Paul Craig might be able to able to hand him his third submission loss of his career.
Volkan Oezdemir will have an edge when it comes to striking. Oezdemir went toe to toe with Dominick Reyes and arguably won the fight. He also had some success against Jiri Prochazka, who is not the UFC light heavyweight champpion.
Against Paul Craig, who is not the finsets strikers in the division, the obvious path to victory will be striking for Volkan Oezdemir.
This might be the final run for both the fighters involved to earn an opportunity to fight for the title. The light heavyweight division is stacked with top title contenders such as Jan Blachowicz, Aleksander Rakic, Anthony Smith and Magomed Ankalaev.
And a loss at UFC London can put the title aspiration of Paul in serious jeopardy. However, it’s very likely that Craig will come up in the win column at UFC London with a submission.
