Volkan Oezdemir Reportedly Out of UFC 227 Bout With Alexander Gustafsson

Volkan Oezdemir will not be facing Alexander Gustafsson if a report holds true.

Sources tell ESPN’s Ariel Helwani that Oezdemir suffered a broken nose and will be unable to compete on Aug. 4 at UFC 227. The report notes that a search for Gustafsson’s replacement opponent is underway. Before Oezdemir was booked, the UFC tried to reach out to Yoel Romero but he can’t make it due to a recent surgery. This rules him out as a replacement opponent.

Romero wasn’t the only fighter the UFC reached out to. The initial hope was to have Luke Rockhold face Gustafsson. The problem is, Rockhold has an injured leg and isn’t even close to being able to throw kicks. Ovince Saint Preux was also an option the UFC explored, but they couldn’t get it done. Ilir Latifi is probably off the table as well. He was scheduled to meet Teixiera at UFC Hamburg, but suffered an injury.

Oezdemir was hoping to get back on track following a TKO loss to light heavyweight champion Daniel Cormier back in January. As for Gustafsson, he hasn’t competed since May 2017. “The Mauler” defeated Glover Teixeira via fifth-round knockout.