UFC 220: Volkan Oezdemir confident felony charge won’t stop him from upsetting Daniel Cormier on Jan. 20

Despite Volkan Oezdemir’s legal issues, Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) proceeded with awarding him the next title shot against Light Heavyweight champion Daniel Cormier, which is set to go down on at UFC 220 on Jan. 20, 2018 in Boston, Massachusetts.

Earlier this month, Volkan was arrested after a warrant was issued out for him based on an altercation that allegedly saw him get into some fisticuffs inside a bar in Fort Lauderdale, Florida last August.

Not but a week after making bail, “No Time” was awarded his championship fight. And by the sound of it, Oezdemir isn’t too worried his legal woes will interfere with the biggest test of his mixed martial arts (MMA) career.

“I have a really good team around me,” Oezdemir said on a recent edition of The MMA Hour via MMA Fighting. “Believe me, everything is going to be all right. … I don't really know about all the details, how it’s gonna happen. But definitely I'm gonna fight and I'm gonna be champion.”

Read the full police report here.

As far as details of the incident, unsurprisingly Oezdemir kept everything close to his vest.

“Unfortunately, I can’t (talk about it), because it’s an ongoing investigation,” Oezdemir said. “My lawyer told me not to. That’s his job. My job is to fight, to be ready for the fight. And I’m thinking I’m doing a great job of that, because I’m feeling great. I’m ready to fight. Jan. 20 is gonna be huge.”

“My focus anyway is on the title shot,” said Volkan. “I believe whatever is gonna be handled. Everything is gonna be handled the right way with this and it’s not gonna pose any problem,” he concluded.

Still, one can’t help but to wonder how much head space his problems outside of the cage will occupy while preparing for a very tough bout. Nevertheless, he is confident he will shock the world and “upset” Cormier by handing him his second loss.

Whether or not he can get it done in the first round, remains to be seen.