Volkan Oezdemir: UFC 214 fight vs. Jimi Manuwa 'going to be a 1-round war'

LA MIRADA, Calif. – Volkan Oezdemir’s rise in the UFC light heavyweight division has been fast and furious, and he expects it to continue.

After just two promotional fights – a decision over Ovince Saint Preux in February and a stunning 28-second knockout of Misha Cirkunov in May – Oezdemir (14-1 MMA, 2-0 UFC) is ranked No. 8 in the USA TODAY Sports/MMAjunkie MMA light heavyweight rankings and faces a pivotal matchup against No. 7 Jimi Manuwa (17-2 MMA, 6-2 UFC) at UFC 214.

“Everything happened quickly, but I don’t want to say I surprised myself, because that’s a lot of work I’ve tried to put in,” Oezdemir told MMAjunkie during Thursday’s open workouts. “I could’ve used some rest, but I didn’t want to do it. I wanted to keep on going, and I’ll think about it later.”

UFC 214 takes place Saturday at Honda Center in Anaheim, Calif. Manuwa-Oezdemir is slated to kick off the pay-per-view main card following prelims on FXX and UFC Fight Pass.

Oezdemir doesn’t expect the fight to last long.

“It’s going to be a one-round war,” he said, “and I’m going to go for the kill right away.”

Oezdemir wants to be “the fastest guy rising for the belt.” A first-round knockout certainly would make a strong case for his shot at facing the Daniel Cormier-Jon Jones winner, though Oezdemir acknowledges he might have to fight Alexander Gustafsson first.

All that said, he knows who he’s facing on Saturday.

“He’s the strongest guy I’ve ever faced in the striking department,” Oezdemir said of Manuwa.

Check out the video above to hear more from Oezdemir.

And for more on UFC 214, check out the UFC Rumors section of the site.