Bad blood? Volkan Oezdemir says UFC champ Daniel Cormier 'actually pretty funny'

BOSTON – Volkan Oezdemir has gotten himself to a UFC title shot quicker than most, and he admitted he kind of likes the guy standing across from him.

In Saturday’s UFC 220 pay-per-view co-headliner, Oezdemir (15-1 MMA, 3-0 UFC) fights light-heavyweight champion Daniel Cormier (19-1 MMA, 8-1 UFC) with a shot at the belt.

It’s a rather quick ascent up the division; after all, who fights for a title and takes on one of the sport’s top pound-for-pound fighters in just his fourth UFC bout?

“Only me,” Oezdemir joked with MMAjunkie.

But when Oezdemir, who’s No. 7 in the USA TODAY Sports/MMAjunkie MMA light-heavyweight rankings, takes on No. 2-ranked Cormier, he won’t necessarily feel rushed into the opportunity.

“I always knew inside of me I would be a champion,” the 28-year-old Swiss fighter said at Wednesday’s open workouts ahead of UFC 220, which takes place at TD Garden in Boston. “Of course, I never thought about fighting for the belt in 2017. …

“But at the end of the year, I was already signing the contract for the world title. So it’s definitely a pretty crazy intense year.”

Ahead of his title shot, Oezdemir’s trash-talking interactions with Cormier have been pretty good-natured. The opponents haven’t gotten too personal and seem thankful to have the bout and the opportunity to move on from stripped-champ Jon Jones’ latest gaffe.

“He’s actually pretty funny,” Oezdemir said of Cormier. “I like the way he talks. I’m a big fan of humor, and I think he’s pretty smart with his way of talking and joking. He’s actually pretty funny.

“But definitely he’s going to see somebody that he’s never seen.”

For more on UFC 220, check out the UFC Rumors section of the site.