‘No Time’ won’t be doing any time: Felony battery charge dropped against light heavyweight contender Volkan Oezdemir.
Good news for UFC light heavyweight contender Volkan Oezdemir. As originally reported by MMA Fighting, battery charges against Oezdemir have been dropped. That means that ‘No time’ is no longer facing hard time for an alleged assault that reportedly left the victim unconscious for upwards of ten minutes, and coping with a concussion.
Oezdemir’s case was dismissed in a Broward County, Florida court as a result of victim Kevin Cohen no longer cooperating with the investigation. He had previously claimed that Oezdemir knocked him unconscious following an altercation at a bar last November, leaving him unconscious for fourteen minutes, and treated for the aforementioned concussion and lacerations.
Oezdemir was nonetheless booked into several bouts by the UFC, including overseas at UFC Chile in July against Shogun Rua. That fight was later pushed back to UFC Hamburg, only to see Oezdemir pulled from the event and moved to UFC 227 in August. There, he will face Alexander Gustafsson in a key match-up in the 205lb division.
Interestingly enough, Oezdemir, a Swiss native, was forced to surrender his passport when charges were initially laid. Why the UFC bothered to book him on international cards, given that, is something of a mystery. However, with the charges now dropped, he can continue to pursue another shot at gold. Oezdemir (15–2) has not fought since losing his first title shot against Daniel Cormier at UFC 220 in January.
