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Former UFC Light Heavyweight Title contender Volkan Oezdemir was set for his big return to the Octagon in the co-main event slot of UFC on November 17 on Fight Island. However, in his latest Instagram post, the Swiss fighter revealed that he wouldn't be able to compete against Nikita Krylov.
The news of Volkan Oezdemir's withdrawal was initially reported by RT Sport. Shortly afterward, the man himself took to social media to confirm that he wouldn't be able to compete on Fight Island.
Oezdemir wrote that he wouldn't be able to fight due to a knee injury and further apologized to Dana White, the rest of the UFC management, his opponent Nikita Krylov, and most importantly, the fans. The former 205-lb title challenger concluded his statement by writing that he will rest up and work on the 'fastest recovery possible' to be back in the Octagon.
Here is what Volkan Oezdemir wrote on Instagram:
Will UFC find a replacement for Volkan Oezdemir?
Volkan Oezdemir's fight against Nikita Krylov promised to be another hard-hitting Light Heavyweight bout. However, following Oezdemir's withdrawal, it now remains to be seen if the UFC will find a replacement opponent for Krylov or not.
Volkan Oezdemir is currently on the back of a second-round knockout loss to Jiri Prochazka from UFC 251, which also took place in Fight Island. The updated UFC on November 17 line-up now looks something like this:
- Brian Ortega vs. Chan Sung Jung
- Nikita Krylov vs. TBA
- Jessica Andrade vs. Katlyn Chookagian
- Shamil Abdurakhimov vs. Ciryl Gane
- Poliana Botelho vs. Gillian Robertson
- Modestas Bukauskas vs. Jimmy Crute
- Mateusz Gamrot vs. Magomed Mustafaev
- Muslim Salikhov vs. Claudio Silva
- Jun Yong Park vs. John Phillips
- Gadzhimurad Antigulov vs. Maxim Grishin
- Said Nurmagomedov vs. Mark Striegl
- Mounir Lazzez vs. David Zawada
- Jamie Mullarkey vs. Fares Ziam
