Volkan Oezdemir ended his three-fight losing streak on Saturday night with an impressive knockout performance against Ilir Latifi.
Latifi showed his strength early on, slamming Oezdemir to the canvas early in round one. But little damage was done as a result and Oezdemir quickly got back up to his feet. A combination of knees and punches from Oezdemir marked up the face of his opponent.
Oezdemir connected with a powerful knee midway through the second round that dropped Latifi to the mat and it looked like a stoppage was in order, but somehow Latifi managed to fight his way back to his feet. But all he did was buy himself a little more time in the Octagon. With just 30 seconds left in the round, Oezdemir landed a solid left hook that sent Latifi stumbling against the cage and to the mat. Oezdemir quickly followed with another left hook that knocked him out.
Despite three straight losses, Oezdemir was ranked No. 7 heading into Saturday's fight. Now 16-4, it'll be interesting to see where he lands in the light heavyweight rankings.