Chile gets ‘Volkan vs. Shogun’ for UFC Fight Night 129

A matchup between two knockout artists of the highest order has been added to the UFC’s first visit to Chile.

Former UFC Light Heavyweight Champion Mauricio ‘Shogun’ Rua (25-10) and former #1 contender Volkan Oezdemir (15-2) will serve as either the main or co-main event for UFC Fight Night 129 on May 19th out of the Movistar Arena in Santiago, Chile. The match up was made official by the UFC earlier today.

Rua will look to add to his 3-fight win streak when he returns to the cage for the first time in over a year since finishing Gian Villante in Fortaleza.

For Oezdemir, a show stopping victory over the legendary Chute Box fighter puts him right back into title contention after coming up short against current title holder Daniel Cormier earlier this year at UFC 220. Should Cormier defeat Stipe Miocic for the Heavyweight Championship later this year at UFC 226, it’s likely that Cormier would vacate the title and the winner of this match up could easily be called upon to face another top contender for the strap.

Here’s a look at the current fight card for UFC Chile as it stands tonight:

Light Heavyweight Bout
Volkan Oezdemir (15-2) vs. Mauricio Rua (25-10)

Women’s Strawweight Bout
Alexa Grasso (10-1) vs. Tatiana Suarez (5-0)

Welterweight Bout
Vicente Luque (12-6-1) vs. Chad Laprise (13-2)

Welterweight Bout
Michel Prazeres (24-2) vs. Zak Cummings (21-5)

Women’s Strawweight Bout
Poliana Botelho (6-1) vs. Syuri Kondo (6-0)

Light Heavyweight Bout
Jared Cannonier (10-3) vs. Dominick Reyes (8-0)

Bantamweight Bout
Diego Rivas (7-1) vs. Guido Cannetti (7-3)

Women’s Flyweight Bout
Andrea Lee (8-2) vs. Veronica Macedo (5-1-1)

Bantamweight Bout
Frankie Saenz (11-5) VS. Henry Briones (16-7-1)