Volkan Oezdemir pulls out of UFC 227 with broken nose

Bengaluru, July 20: Light Heavyweight contender Volkan Oezdemir has pulled out of a fight against Alexander Gustafsson at UFC 227 due to a broken nose, according to reports from ESPN.

The news first reported by renowned MMA journalist Ariel Helwani was later confirmed by other media outlets. The event takes place on August 4 at the Staples Center in Los Angeles, California.

This also continues a rough ride for Oezdemir, who lost to Daniel Cormier via second-round TKO in January in the 185lbs title bout. Meanwhile, he was twice forced out of scheduled bouts opposite Mauricio Rua as a result of visa issues.

The Switzerland native erupted on the light heavyweight scene in 2017 with a trio of upset wins over Ovince Saint Preux, Misha Cirkunov, and Jimi Manuwa.

According to the report by ESPN, the UFC are actively looking for a replacement to keep Gustafsson on the card. If a replacemnt is found, it will be Gustafsson's fifth potential opponent for the card, after the promotion's attempts to book bouts versus Luke Rockhold, Yoel Romero, Ovince Saint Preux and lastly Oezdemir all fell through.

Gustafsson is fresh off a fifth-round knockout of Glover Teixeira in May 2017. A win at UFC 227 could have propelled him back in the light heavyweight title picture, quite possibly in a rematch with Cormier, whom he lost to by split decision in 2015.