Daniel Cormier: UFC title bout vs. Volkan Oezdemir nearly official, will show him 'new level'

NEW YORK – UFC light heavyweight champion Daniel Cormier says it won’t be long before a formal date and location are announced for his title defense against Volkan Oezdemir.

Cormier (19-1 MMA, 8-1 UFC), who was recently reinstated as champion after Jon Jones was flagged with a potential USADA violation and stripped of the gold, has been angling for a matchup with Oezdemir (15-1 MMA, 3-0 UFC) for his next title defense. The fight is essentially locked in; Cormier just said it’s a matter of an official announcement being made.

“Volkan and I are going to fight,” Cormier told MMAjunkie. “The thing is pretty close to getting confirmed. We’re going to be getting it going, me and Oezdemir.”

It wasn’t long ago when Cormier dismissed a fight with Oezdemir entirely. He was in the midst of his feud with Jones and, with confidence he would win their rematch at UFC 214 in July, thought he was going to be tied into the rivalry with “Bones” for at least one more fight.

When Jones flunked his drug test, though, the situation completely changed, and along with it the landscape of the 205-pound division. Oezdemir has won a number of fights in impressive fashion since, and now he’s looking forward to the contest.

“Last year I said something to the effect of, ‘If I’m here fighting Volkan Oezdemir and Misha Cirkunov, I’ve done something wrong,'” Cormier said. “No one would have thought Volkan would have done this all in one year. It’s been amazing what he has accomplished. But as I always say, they’ve got levels to this game. This is a new level. He’s going to realize that more in the octagon.”

Cormier said the fight with Oezdemir will happen in the “beginning of next year,” but promotion is already underway. Oezdemir has been training at Combat Club in Florida, which also has housed former UFC middleweight champion and Cormier’s good friend, Luke Rockhold.

Oezdemir attempted to troll Cormier by indicating he was getting the inside scoop, but Cormier fired back in kind. He said Rockhold’s presence at Combat Club, as well as American Kickboxing Academy, is unlikely to play into the fight, because gauging info isn’t his style.

“Luke has to do the best thing for Luke,” Cormier said. “He has this great chemistry with Henri Hooft, who is a fantastic coach. He likes to train with him. I’m not ever going to hold anything against my brother for seeking a way to better himself. He’s going to be home in a couple weeks, so he’ll be back in our gym. Which is crazy that he’ll be popping between both camps. He’s doing what’s best for Luke Rockhold, and I applaud him for it.”

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