Craig vs Oezdemir

Who won Craig vs Oezdemir?

Volkan Oezdemir beat Paul Craig by unanimous decision in their 3 round contest during the main card of UFC Fight Night London, on Saturday 23rd July 2022 at The O2 in London.

The scorecards were announced as 30-27, 30-27, 30-27 in favor of the winner Volkan Oezdemir.

The fight was scheduled to take place over 3 rounds in the Light Heavyweight division, which meant the weight limit was 205 pounds (14.6 stone or 93 KG).

Craig vs Oezdemir stats

Paul Craig stepped into the octagon with a record of 16 wins, 4 losses and 1 draw, 3 of those wins coming by the way of knock out and 13 by submission.

Volkan Oezdemir made his way to the cage with a record of 17 wins, 6 losses and 0 draws, 12 of those wins coming by knock out and 1 by submission.

Paul Craig's UFC record stood at 9-7-1, while Volkan Oezdemir's came in at 7-6-0.

The stats suggested Oezdemir had a massive power advantage over Craig, boasting a 71% knock out percentage over Craig's 19%.

If the fight went to the ground, their records suggested Craig had a massive advantage over Oezdemir, boasting a 81% submission rate over Oezdemir's 6%.

Paul Craig was the older man by 2 years, at 36 years old.

Craig had a height advantage of 1 inch over Oezdemir. That also extended to a 1-inch reach advantage.

Craig was the less experienced professional fighter, having had 2 fewer fights, and made his debut in 2013, 2 years and 11 months later than Oezdemir, whose first professional fight was in 2010. He had fought 7 less professional rounds, 41 to Oezdemir's 48.

Craig vs Oezdemir form

Craig had beaten 3 of his last 5 opponents, stopping 2 of them, going to the judges once.

In his last fight before this contest, he had won against Jamahal Hill at UFC 263 on 12th June 2021 by knockout in the 1st round at Gila River Arena, Glendale, United States.

Previous to that, he had beaten Mauricio Rua at UFC 255 on 21st November 2020 by knockout in the 2nd round at UFC APEX, Las Vegas.

Going into that contest, he had defeated Gadzhimurad Antigulov at UFC Fight Island 3 on 25th July 2020 by submission in the 1st round at UFC Fight Island, Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates.

Before that, he had drawn with Mauricio Rua at UFC on ESPN+ 22 on 16th November 2019 by split draw in their 3 round contest at Ibirapuera Gymnasium, Sao Paulo, Brazil.

He had lost to Alonzo Menifield at UFC on ESPN 3 on 29th June 2019 by knockout in the 1st round at Target Center, Minneapolis, United States.

Oezdemir had beaten 3 of his last 5 opponents, stopping 1 of them, going the distance twice.

In his last fight leading up to this contest, he had been beaten by Nikita Krylov at UFC 280 on 22nd October 2022 by unanimous decision in their 3 round contest at Etihad Arena, Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates.

Previous to that, he was victorious against Paul Craig at UFC Fight Night London on 23rd July 2022 by unanimous decision in their 3 round contest at The O2, London, United Kingdom.

Going into that contest, he had been defeated by Magomed Ankalaev at UFC 267 on 30th October 2021 by unanimous decision in their 3 round contest.

Before that, he had won against Aleksandar Rakic at UFC on ESPN+ 23 on 21st December 2019 by split decision in their 3 round contest at Sajik Arena, Busan, South Korea.

He had beaten Ilir Latifi at UFC on ESPN+ 14 on 10th August 2019 by knockout in the 2nd round at Antel Arena, Montevideo, Uruguay.

Activity check

In terms of activity leading into the fight, Volkan Oezdemir had been fighting more than Paul Craig.

Going to this contest, Paul Craig had last fought 2 years, 10 months and 6 days ago, while Volkan Oezdemir's last outing had been 1 year, 5 months and 27 days ago.

Craig's last 5 fights had come over a period of 4 years, 9 months and 20 days, meaning he had been fighting on average every 11 months and 17 days. In those fights, he fought a total of 8 rounds, meaning that they had lasted 1.6 rounds on average.

Oezdemir's last 5 fights had come over a period of 4 years, 8 months and 8 days, meaning he had been fighting on average every 11 months and 8 days. In those fights, he fought a total of 14 rounds, meaning that they had lasted 2.8 rounds on average.

What were the odds on Craig vs Oezdemir?

Sorry, we couldn’t find any historical odds for Craig vs Oezdemir.