Two additional light heavyweight bouts have been added to UFC Stockholm as reported by ESPN, when Volkan Oezdemir returns to action against Ilir Latifi and Jimi Manuwa takes on Aleksandar Rakic at the June 1 event. The main event for the card will feature the two most recent title challengers, Alexander Gustafsson and Anthony Smith. This event will be held at Ericsson Globe in Stockholm, Sweden.
Volkan Oezdemir (15-4) is eager to get right back to work after dropping a third straight against Dominick Reyes at UFC London. Oezdemir is currently the #7-ranked light heavyweight in the world, with his opponent, Ilir Latifi sitting at #9. Last year, Volkan Oezdemir found himself challenging for the world title. In order to return to that position, Oezdemir will have a lot of work to do, which would explain the swift turnaround for the heavy hitter.
Ilir Latifi (14-6) is also coming off of a loss, coming up short against Corey Anderson at UFC 232 in a unanimous decision defeat. Latifi has won two of his last three fights, however, with his most recent victory coming at the expense of Ovince Saint Preux in February of 2018.
Jimi Manuwa (17-5), like Volkan Oezdemir is on a three-fight losing streak and is in need of a win. Despite the skid, Manuwa also finds himself as a top-10 light heavyweight, remaining at the #10 position. In his most recent outing, Manuwa was knocked unconscious by Thiago Santos at UFC 231 and will certainly be looking for a different result come June 1.
Awaiting Manuwa at UFC Stockholm will be young light heavyweight upstart Aleksandar Rakic (11-1), who, of the four fighters added to the card, is the only competitor coming off a win, 11 straight, in fact. Rakic has not lost a fight since his professional debut in 2011 and currently has a UFC record of 3-0. Rakic will have quite an opportunity to introduce himself to the UFC rankings when he faces a ranked light heavyweight for the first time in his UFC career in Jimi Manuwa.
So far, the only fights reported for UFC Stockholm are the following light heavyweight bouts:
Main Event: Alexander Gustafsson vs. Anthony Smith
Volkan Oezdemir vs. Ilir Latifi
Jimi Manuwa vs. Aleksandar Rakic
Which of these two bouts announced for UFC Stockholm today are you most looking forward to?
