We think we know why so many people were surprised by the result of UFC Stockholm’s co-main event.
Despite entering into the bout two full ranking places higher than his opponent, Volkan Oezdemir was a 13/4 underdog against streaking light heavyweight Misha Cirkunov. So many fans slept on the Swiss striker for a good few reasons.
While their professional records and finish rates were very similar before Sunday, most fight fans had just seen more of Cirkunov. The Canadian was riding an eight-fight win-streak, with the last four coming under the UFC banner. In a division that’s desperate for fresh stars, many saw this guy who kept winning as the future at 205 lbs.
Oezdemir’s last fight was his promotional debut, coming in on short notice to take on Ovince Saint Preux at UFC Houston. His hard-fought split decision win over the one-time title challenger was overshadowed massively by the Korean Zombie’s stunning return against Dennis Bermudez in the headliner.
Cirkunov was also making more noise than Oezdemir recently. He started grabbing some headlines when he was removed from the UFC’s rankings after his contract had ended. There were rumblings about him testing the waters of free agency, but fortunately, he re-signed with the promotion and booked a fight against the new kid on the block.
A lot more UFC fans knew about Cirkunov – they knew about his personality, they knew about his skill-set and they knew that if he was going to emerge victorious, he was probably going to do so via quick submission. However, a lot of people weren’t anticipating a quick finish from his opponent after seeing him go the distance with OSP, despite the fact that he had nine first round knockouts on his record.
He added a 10th in Sweden, stopping Cirkunov with a perfectly-placed one-punch knockout just 28 seconds into the fight. From the opening buzzer, Cirkunov charged forward trying to show he was not afraid to stand with the more technical striker.
Cirkunov had Oezdemir backing up towards the cage as he bounded forward throwing wild flurries, but once they reached the fence, it was game over. A simple pivot off the fence was followed by a short right hook to the temple which sent the Canadian crashing down to the mat.
A rising star has hit a stumbling block, but a new one has taken his place. It will be interesting to see what Oezdemir can do if he gets his preferred opponent, Jimi Manuwa, next.
