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 18th fight in the UFC, having made his debut for the promotion in 2016. Volkan Oezdemir marked his 14th fight for them, having made his own debut for the promotion in 2017.

Paul Craig's UFC record stood at 9-8-1, while Volkan Oezdemir's came in at 8-6-0.

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 6 less professional rounds, 43 to Oezdemir's 49.

Craig vs Oezdemir form

Craig had beaten 2 of his last 5 opponents, stopping 1 of them, going to the judges once.

In his last fight before this contest, he had lost to Brendan Allen at UFC Fight Night – Allen vs Craig on 18th November 2023 by submission in the 3rd round at UFC Apex, Las Vegas, United States.

Previous to that, he had won against André Muniz at UFC Fight Night London – Aspinall vs. Tybura on 22nd July 2023 by knockout in the 2nd round at O2 Arena, London, United Kingdom.

Going into that contest, he had been beaten by Johnny Walker at UFC 283 on 21st January 2023 by knockout in the 1st round at Jeunesse Arena, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.

Before that, he had been defeated by Volkan Oezdemir 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 beaten Nikita Krylov at UFC Fight Night London on 19th March 2022 by submission in the 1st round at 02 Arena, London.

Activity check

Craig's last 5 fights had come over a period of 2 years, 5 months and 30 days, meaning he had been fighting on average every 6 months and 1 day. In those fights, he fought a total of 10 rounds, meaning that they had lasted 2 rounds on average.

What were the odds on Craig vs Oezdemir?

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