Magomed Ankalaev vs. Volkan Oezdemir will join an already stacked UFC 267 lineup.
Originally slated for the UFC Fight Night 191 card on Sept. 4, Ankalaev (15-1 MMA, 6-1 UFC) vs. Oezdemir (17-5 MMA, 5-4 UFC) has moved to the Oct. 30 pay-per-view card, which takes place at Etihad Arena in Abu Dhabi. The event is expected to air on ABC.
A person with knowledge of the matchup confirmed the booking to MMA Junkie but asked to remain anonymous because the promotion has yet to make an official announcement. MMA DNA was first to report the news.
Since dropping his UFC debut in a comeback loss to Paul Craig, Russia’s Ankalaev has emerged as one of the top contenders in the light heavyweight division. Currently riding a six-fight winning streak, which includes back-to-back finishes of Ion Cutelaba, Ankalaev is coming off a unanimous decision win over Nikita Krylov in February.
Oezdemir will look to bounce back from his knockout loss to Jiri Prochazka at UFC 251 in July 2020. Prior to that, the former title challenger scored two straight wins over Ilir Latifi and rising contender Aleksandar Rakic.
With the addition, the UFC 267 lineup now includes:
- Champ Jan Blachowicz vs. Glover Teixeira – for light heavyweight title
- Champ Aljamain Sterling vs. Petr Yan – for bantamweight title
- Rafael dos Anjos vs. Islam Makhachev
- Marcin Tybura vs. Alexander Volkov
- Magomed Ankalaev vs. Volkan Oezdemir
- Khamzat Chimaev vs. Li Jingliang
- Virna Jandiroba vs. Amanda Ribas
- Walt Harris vs. Tai Tuivasa
- Shamil Gamzatov vs. Michal Oleksiejczuk
- Ricardo Ramos vs. Zubaira Tukhugov
- Makwan Amirkhani vs. Tristan Connelly
- Allan Nascimento vs. Tagir Ulanbekov