Volkan Oezdemir and Carlos Ulberg meet Saturday on the UFC Fight Night 248 main card at Galaxy Arena in Macau. Check out this quick breakdown of the matchup from MMA Junkie analyst Dan Tom.
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Oezdemir (20-7 MMA, 8-6 UFC) will look to keep the momentum going after back-to-back wins that ended in the first round. Last September, Oezdemir submitted Bogdan Guskov and followed that victory up with an opening-round knockout of Johnny Walker in June. … Ulberg (11-1 MMA, 6-1 UFC) enters as one of the hottest fighters on the entire roster as a winner of six straight with five finishes. In his first fight of 2024, Ulberg stopped Alonzo Menifield in just 12 seconds.
Filling out the main card is a light heavyweight attraction between Oezdemir and Ulberg.
One of the more tested products at 205 pounds, Oezdemir will be looking to test the potential of the up-and-coming Ulberg.
Although part of me wanted to take a flier on Oezdemir for the upset, I suspect that we get a slow and somewhat sloppy affair that favors the range and athleticism of Ulberg.
Whether it is because he is a City Kickboxing fighter or the fact that he’s had to spend a considerable time imitating Alex Pereira for Israel Adesanya, Ulberg seems much more composed at range while looking to walk opponents into his patent left hook.
Ulberg also showed off an improved gas tank and grappling skills in his fight with Da Woon Jung – something that will likely serve him well here if Oezdemir tries to make things ugly.
The pick is for Ulberg to edge out a narrow win on the scorecards.
The oddsmakers and the public are favoring the fighter from New Zealand, listing Ulberg -265 and Oezdemir +200 via FanDuel.
As the co-main event, Oezdemir and Ulberg are expected to walk to the cage at approximately 6:40 a.m. ET. The fight will stream on ESPN+.
For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC Fight Night 248.
This article originally appeared on MMA Junkie: Volkan Oezdemir vs. Carlos Ulberg prediction, pick, start time for UFC Fight Night 248
