Volkan Oezdemir and Paul Craig face off on Saturday on the main card of UFC Fight Night 208 in a light heavyweight showdown at the O2 Arena in London, England.
Volkan “No Time” Oezdemir comes into this game with a 17-6 record overall but he has lost two fights in a row. Oezdemir’s last fight came against Magomed Ankalaev in October of 2021 and he was outstruck 66-48 and which led to the unanimous decision loss. Oezdemir is averaging 4.75 significant strikes per minute while absorbing 4.27 significant strikes per minute. He is averaging 0.31 takedowns every 15 minutes but he is only successful on 18 percent of his takedown attempts. He also stops 80 percent of his opponent's takedown attempts.
On the other side of this matchup is Paul Craig who sits with a 16-4-1 record overall and he has won four fights in a row. Craig’s last fight came against Nikita Krylov in March of 2022, and it was in the 1st round that he locked in a triangle choke to secure the victory. Craig is averaging 2.51 significant strikes per minute while absorbing 2.49 significant strikes per minute. He is averaging 2.13 takedowns every 15 minutes and he is successful on 26 percent of his takedown attempts. He also stops 50 percent of his takedown attempts. Craig is averaging 2.0 submission attempts every 15 minutes. Craig is elite with the submissions and when he finds success, he is putting his opponent in a bad position and getting finishes.
Craig has the submission work while Oezdemir is the better knockout artist. Oezdemir has a good takedown defense, but Craig always seems to make his opponent make a mistake. Look for Oezdemir to be forced into a bad position and Craig is going to take advantage. Craig is going to lock in a submission and secure the victory. Back Craig by submission.
AUTHOR: Shane Mickle
