Volkan Oezdemir gets arraignment date over alleged felony assault

The light heavyweight top contender may be confident he’ll make it to UFC 220 as planned, but in the mean time, the court case against him is moving ahead.

Come January 9th Volkan Oezdemir won’t be at the gym, where he should be getting ready to fight Daniel Cormier at UFC 220 later that month. Instead, he’ll be in court. The top-ranked UFC light heavyweight has the most important fight of his career ahead of him, a shot at a world championship, but a much more ignoble scuffle has put itself firmly in his way.

Back in August, it appears that Oezdemir got involved in an altercation outside a bar in Fort Lauderdale, FL. ‘No Time’ alleges that someone had approached his fiancee while he was in the restroom, prompting the fight. An attorney acting on his behalf told the court that Oezdemir’s actions were justified and that he was not the aggressor.

However, the state prosecutor – acting on behalf of the alleged victim, Kevin Cohen – claims his client was ‘sucker punched.’ And, according to a report by MMA Fighting, Cohen alleges that he was unconscious nearly 14 minutes, and that eventually he was taken to a hospital, where he received multiple staples – as well as being treated for concussion symptoms.

All of which has led the state to move forward with third degree felony “battery causing great bodily harm” – downgraded from an initial second-degree felony charge of “aggravated battery causing bodily harm or disability.”

Oezdemir has been ordered to appear at the Broward County Seventeenth Judicial Circuit Court, to face judge Barbara R. Duffy, where he will officially hear the charges against him. If he fails to appear, MMA Fighting also reports that a “no-bond arrest warrant” has been issued.

Oezdemir has sounded nothing but confident since the news broke, telling Bloody Elbow, “Everybody has their own goal. Everybody has their own job. My job is to train and fight, and everybody else is handling their own job.”

Whether his confidence continues as the case moves forward remains to be seen.

UFC 220 takes place on January 20th in Boston, MA. The event is expected to be headlined by a heavyweight title fight between Stipe Miocic and Francis Ngannou. Daniel Cormier is scheduled to defend his light heavyweight title against Volkan Oezdemir in the co-main event.