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.

This was Paul Craig's 19th fight in the UFC, having made his debut for the promotion in 2016. Volkan Oezdemir marked his 15th fight for them, having made his own debut for the promotion in 2017.

Paul Craig's UFC record stood at 9-9-1, while Volkan Oezdemir's came in at 8-7-0.

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 37 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 6 less professional rounds, 46 to Oezdemir's 52.

Craig vs Oezdemir form

Craig had beaten 4 of his last 5 opponents, stopping 2 of them, going to the judges twice.

In his last fight before this contest, he had won against Nikita Krylov at UFC Fight Night London on 19th March 2022 by submission in the 1st round at 02 Arena, London, United Kingdom.

Previous to that, he had beaten Jamahal Hill at UFC 263 on 12th June 2021 by knockout in the 1st round at Gila River Arena, Glendale, United States.

Going into that contest, he had defeated Mauricio Rua at UFC 255 on 21st November 2020 by knockout in the 2nd round at UFC APEX, Las Vegas.

Before that, he was victorious against 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.

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.

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 won against Johnny Walker at UFC Fight Night: Whittaker vs. Aliskerov on 22nd June 2024 by knockout in the 1st round at Kingdom Arena, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.

Previous to that, he had beaten Bogdan Guskov at UFC Fight Night Paris – Gane vs. Spivac on 2nd September 2023 by submission in the 1st round at Accor Arena, Paris, France.

Going into that contest, he had lost to 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.

Before that, he had defeated 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.

He had been beaten by Magomed Ankalaev at UFC 267 on 30th October 2021 by unanimous decision in their 3 round contest.

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, 11 months and 20 days ago, while Volkan Oezdemir's last outing had been 8 months and 17 days ago.

Craig's last 5 fights had come over a period of 5 years, 3 months and 23 days, meaning he had been fighting on average every 1 year and 23 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 3 years, 4 months and 9 days, meaning he had been fighting on average every 8 months and 2 days. In those fights, he fought a total of 11 rounds, meaning that they had lasted 2.2 rounds on average.

What were the odds on Craig vs Oezdemir?

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