Daniel Cormier to defend light heavyweight title at UFC 220
Volkan Oezdemir’s skirmish outside the cage won’t prevent him from fighting for a belt inside it.
The top light heavyweight contender will challenge Daniel Cormier for the light heavyweight title in the main event of UFC 220 on Jan. 20 at TD Garden in Boston, the organization announced Wednesday on Fox Sports 1.
Oezdemir was arrested Nov. 18 in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, for his alleged involvement in an August bar fight. He has been charged with second-degree felony charges of aggravated battery with serious bodily injury. He has said he was not the aggressor in the incident.
UFC president Dana White said Tuesday that Oezdemir would still “probably” get the title shot he earned with five straight wins, including back-to-back knockouts in less than a minute in his past two fights.
It became official Wednesday.
Cormier, an Olympian in wrestling, has never lost a professional fight to anyone but Jon Jones. He lost the belt to Jones in their second fight in July, but Jones was stripped of the title because of a positive drug test and the belt was awarded back to Cormier.
The UFC 220 card includes a light heavyweight bout between Gian Villante and Francimar Barroso, and a women’s strawweight bout pitting Maryna Moroz against Las Vegan Jamie Moyle.
Also on Wednesday, UFC officials confirmed an ESPN report that a middleweight contender bout between Derek Brunson and Ronaldo “Jacare” Souza will serve as the main event for the UFC on Fox 27 card Jan. 27 in Charlotte, North Carolina.
Contact Adam Hill at ahill@reviewjournal.com or 702-277-8028. Follow @AdamHillLVRJ on Twitter.
