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What were the biggest takeaways from UFC on ABC 6 in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia? Here are some post-fight thoughts.
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Will Volkan Oezdemir be a favorite again?
Volkan Oezdemir emerged as MMA Junkie's June Knockout of the Month candidate after defeating Johnny Walker less than three minutes into the first round of their light heavyweight bout.
It's been a rocky road for Oezdemir (20-7 MMA, 8-6 UFC), whose UFC career started well, landing him a title fight against then-champion Daniel Cormier, but then had a rocky start. While he fell just short in the hot spots, he did post back-to-back wins for the first time since 2019.
Does Walker's knockout tell us a lot about Oezdemir that we didn't know before? Probably not. But if you expected him to win this fight, you couldn't have done it more efficiently than he did. Walker has fought tougher matches against higher-ranked opponents, so that's a credit to Oezdemir.
The Swede's power will always be an X-factor when he steps into the Octagon, and if he can produce a few more performances like this against worthy opponents in a row, he could be back in contention for a title shot for the first time in nearly seven years.
Alexander Volkov breaks through
Alexander Volkov has been chasing a win over a top-three heavyweight throughout his UFC career and finally got his hands on one against Sergey Pavlovich.
Volkov (38-10 MMA, 12-4 UFC) produced his sharpest performance yet inside the Octagon against Pavlovic, who was considered one of the most feared power punchers in heavyweight history until his loss to Tom Aspinall in November.
After four straight wins, Volkov is in a better position than ever to get a title shot, and despite his criticism of Jon Jones in his post-fight interview, it's clear that's not going to happen.
But what's more likely for him is that Jones and Stipe Miocic will both retire after their title fight on Nov. 9, putting him in a favorable position to claim the winner of interim champion Aspinall vs. Curtis Blaydes, who will face a rematch at UFC 304 in Manchester next month.
Robert Whittaker shows there are levels
Robert Whittaker was determined and focused to win despite less-than-ideal circumstances in the main event, and he parlayed that determination into one of the most impressive performances of his storied UFC career.
Whittaker (26-7 MMA, 17-5 UFC) could have easily declined to be in the main event after Khamzat Chimaev was eliminated. Not only was he unfazed when the bout was called off, he immediately accepted Ikram Aliskerov as his replacement, accepting that the bout would be tougher than it was originally scheduled to be.
Then Whittaker came along and shoved Aliskeroff, who was confident that his career-changing moment was just around the corner, but the page had yet to be turned, at least not on Whittaker's watch.
The former UFC champion is on a two-fight win streak since losing to current champion Dricus du Plessis nearly a year ago, coming against two big names in Aliskerov and Paulo Costa. Since then, he's dubbed himself “the boogeyman” of the 185-pound division, and while some might disagree with that claim, it's good to see Whittaker looking his most confident yet.
Could Whittaker challenge the winner of du Plessis vs. Israel Adesanya at UFC 305 on August 17? He could make a big claim if he fights on that card, especially against someone like Sean Strickland. We'll see what happens, but it's definitely an interesting time at middleweight.
Robert Whittaker post-fight press conference interview
Dana White's post-fight press conference interview
For more on the card, check out MMA Junkie's UFC on ABC 6 event hub.
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