Volkan Oezdemir understands if Anthony Johnson doesn’t pick him to beat Jon Jones, but he disagrees.
Oezdemir is coming off a 42-second knockout victory over Jimi Manuwa last month at UFC 214. It was Oezdemir’s second straight win that ended in a knockout in under a minute. The knockout was so emphatic that Oezdemir changed his nickname to “No Time.”
Johnson once trained with Oezdemir and has always been high on his punching power. With that said, “Rumble” still believes Jones has an edge if they compete. Oezdemir told Bloody Elbow that he sees Johnson’s point of view:
“I totally understand what he said about Jones in perspective to having his belt back; he is the king of the UFC — No. 1 pound-for-pound — so obviously he is supposed to destroy everybody in the world. I agree that Jones is on another level in the sense of his media impact.”
With that said, “No Time” also feels Johnson would be in for a surprise if the bout takes place.
“However, when speaking about fighting, I totally disagree. I will knock Jones out for the first time of his UFC career. I have a profound confidence in my fighting abilities, I don’t need someone to validate me because I know I will dominate this division.”
