Oezdemir is always a chilled-out character, and being at ease with his situation can’t have been hurt by his last performance inside the Octagon. After suffering the disappointment of a decision loss to Nikita Krylov at UFC 280 in Abu Dhabi, Oezdemir returned 11 months later in Paris, France, and handed Uzbek finisher Bogdan Guskov the first submission defeat of his career with a first-round rear-naked choke.
It was only the second submission victory of Oezdemir’s career, and his first in the UFC, and it’s given him a real lift ahead of his bout with Walker this weekend.
“My last fight was a great win, so it’s always good to enjoy life with a great submission like that,” he said.
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“It also gave me a boost of confidence for what’s coming with my techniques, my technical stuff in my training. So, it’s rolling on.
“It felt good, because I’ve been working on my ground stuff for a while, and it finally came to fruition. It’s a blessing. I can’t wait to show more of it.”
Oezdemir has always been among the UFC’s top 205-pounders, and while he has experienced a mixture of wins and losses in recent years, he’s always found a way to bounce back. When asked what it was that motivated him to keep going and keep grinding, his answer was as straightforward as the Swiss himself.