UFC light heavyweight star Volkan Oezdemir has been cleared by the Broward County Court from felony battery charges on Monday.
Oezdemir, who allegedly knocked a man unconscious in a bar in Fort Lauderdale, was arrested last year before he posted a $10,000 bail. The victim, who was identified as Kevin Cohen, said that he was unconscious for 14 minutes after Oezdemir allegedly hit him.
However, Oezdemir's lawyer Bruce A. Zimet was quick to deny the claims, citing that the cage warrior was not the aggressor in the incident. The charges were later dropped on the grounds of lack of cooperation from the victim. Oezdemir, who was charged with a third-degree felony, was scheduled to go trial.
"This morning (July 9, 2018), all criminal charges against Volkan Oezdemir were dismissed by the Broward County State Attorney's Office. The announcement of the dismissal (Nolle Pros.) was made in open Court in Ft. Lauderdale," Zimet revealed.
Zimet added that Oezdemir will now be shifting his attention on his professional career as he battles Alexander Gustafsson later this year. Oezdemir was destined to take on Mauricio Rua at UFC Fight Night 129 in Chile. However, issues related to the case resulted in the promotion to schedule the bout to UFC Fight Night 134, which is slated for July 22 in Hamburg, Germany.
Oezdemir Hopes To Rebound
The 28-year-old Oezdemir, who last fought in UFC 220, is coming off a second-round technical knockout loss to Daniel Cormier in January. Prior to his gut-wrenching loss to Cormier, Oezdemir was among the biggest stars in the company, having won three straight fights to kick off his career in the UFC.
In addition, Oezdemir also caught the attention of fight fans when he beat Misha Cirkunov and Jimi Manuwa in less than a minute to get a shot at the title. He also survived the dangerous Ovince St-Preux via split decision.
Oezdemir, who holds an outstanding 15-2 win-loss slate, hopes to put up a good showing against Gustafsson on Aug. 4 in Los Angeles. Sources say that the fight will likely be a title eliminator in which the winner could gain an opportunity at the light heavyweight belt currently held by Cormier.
Since losing to Cormier, Oezdemir hasn't found his groove back, as he has bounced around numerous fight cards due to restrictions on travel. Oezdemir surrendered his passport when he was arrested in November, hence costing him at least two potential fights in the process.
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