Preview: UFC Fight Night 226 ‘Gane vs. Spivak’

Light Heavyweights

#9 LHW | Volkan Oezdemir (18-7, 6-6 UFC) vs. Bogdan Guskov (14-2, 0-0 UFC)

ODDS: Oezdemir (-185), Guskov (+154)

Oezdemir finds himself in an interesting spot, as rounding into career-best form has not led him much success. Oezdemir’s breakout 2017 campaign was about as unexpected as a rise to title contention gets. “No Time” began the year as a regional heavyweight before getting the late-notice call from the UFC for a fight at 205 pounds, then knocked out Misha Cirkunov and Jimi Manuwa in a combined 50 seconds to end the year as Daniel Cormier’s next title challenger. After losing to Cormier, Oezdemir struggled a bit in the face of more aggressive opponents, but he has seemingly come out the other side to become a more consistent fighter. While that has led to some solid wins, including a 2019 victory over current contender Aleksandar Rakic, Oezdemir keeps running into a ceiling against the more durable and persistent opponents dotting the UFC’s light heavyweight elite. After an October setback to Nikita Krylov, Oezdemir looked to rebound against rising contender Azamat Murzakanov here but instead draws an intriguing late-notice replacement in Guskov. Born in Uzbekistan and fighting out of Russia, Guskov is riding the usual string of first-round finishes that typically gets the UFC’s notice, but he seems to be a bit more than the usual glass cannon. Guskov is patient with his output but hits like a truck and has shown some solid wrestling to supplement that knockout power. That makes this a tricky test for Oezdemir, as Guskov figures to get off to a hot start and has the type of power to put out even a more composed version of the Swiss veteran. Nevertheless, the lean is that Oezdemir can survive and take Guskov into his deepest waters yet, even if this is a fight rife with some upset potential. The pick is Oezdemir via second-round stoppage.

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Gane vs. Spivak
Fiorot vs. Namajunas
St. Denis vs. Moises
Oezdemir vs. Guskov
Gomis vs. Ghemmouri
The Prelims