Volkan Oezdemir Has Charges Dismissed Against Him in Felony Battery Case

Volkan Oezdemir can rest easy after felony battery charges against him were dropped in court on Monday.

The former light heavyweight title contender was facing potential jail time after he was accused of knocking out a bar patron outside an establishment in Fort Lauderdale, Fla. back in August 2017.

Oezdemir was charged with third degree felony battery — a penalty that could come along with up to a five-year prison sentence if convicted.

The good news for Oezdemir was the charges were dismissed in court on Monday and the prosecution in Broward County, Fla. will no longer pursue the case after the victim was reportedly not cooperating with law enforcement officials. Representatives from the states attorney’s office confirmed the news on Monday.

Now Oezdemir is free and clear with the charges dismissed against him.

After the initial charges were filed against Oezdemir, he had his passport taken away and it likely cost him two fights this year against Mauricio “Shogun” Rua after he was scheduled to compete in both Chile and Germany before being pulled from the cards due to obvious visa issues because he couldn’t travel out of the country.

The only bright side to the outcome was Oezdemir has now been booked in an even more high profile fight against former two-time title challenger Alexander Gustafsson in a pivotal light heavyweight matchup at UFC 227 on Aug. 4 in Los Angeles.

News of Oezdemir being cleared was first reported by MMAFighting.