Volkan Oezdemir vs. Anthony Smith Headlines First Ever UFC Card in Moncton
A light heavyweight showdown between Volkan Oezdemir and Anthony Smith will headline the first ever UFC card in Moncton, New Brunswick, Canada on Oct. 27.
UFC officials announced the matchup on Thursday.
That's a match up!@Volkan_Oezdemir vs. @LionheartSmith is your #UFCMoncton main event!! pic.twitter.com/3rr7e7lhzu
— UFC Europe (@UFCEurope) August 2, 2018
For Oezdemir, this will end up being his first fight since losing to light heavyweight champion Daniel Cormier back in January at UFC 220. Oezdemir was scheduled for several fights after that bout but legal issues that kept him from traveling outside the United States and an injury to Alexander Gustafsson kept him from competing until now.
Thankfully, Oezdemir was cleared of all charges in a battery case in Florida and now he’s ready to resume his career with his next fight taking place in Canada.
Meanwhile, Smith has made a rapid rise up the light heavyweight ranks after first appearing in the division back in June when he made quick work of former champion Rashad Evans at UFC 225.
Smith followed up that performance with a short notice bout against Mauricio “Shogun” Rua before flattening the former champion in less than two minutes in their fight in Germany.
Now Smith will attempt to make it three in a row when he faces Oezdemir and with a victory he would almost certainly enter the talk for title contention at 205 pounds.
