Volkan Oezdemir and Aleksandar Rakic headed into South Korea with well-earned reputations as knockout artists, but their clash at UFC on ESPN+ 23 showed they both have chins to match, as they battled all the way to the scorecards in Busan. The two light heavyweight finishers went toe-to-toe through three full rounds at Sajik Arena in the night’s co-main event, which streamed live on ESPN+. And a hotly-contested 15 minutes, it was Oezdemir (17-4 MMA, 5-3 UFC) who got the nod via split decision. The bout started in explosive fashion, as Rakic (12-2 MMA, 4-1 UFC) came flying out of his corner and connected with two solid punches, then a flying knee, as he backed Oezdemir against the fence. The Austrian then looked to surprise the Swiss fighter with a guillotine choke, but Oezdemir recovered well before the action returned to the center of the octagon.
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