UFC 214: Jimi Manuwa vs. Volkan Oezdemir slugfest headed to Anaheim

Fresh off his 28-second KO of Misha Cirkunov in Stockholm, red-hot surging Swiss kickboxer Volkan Oezdemir (14-1) will have a quick turnaround when he takes on London ‘Poster Boy’ Jimi Manuwa (17-2) on July 29th in Anaheim on the PPV portion of UFC 214.

Per UFC President Dana White, Manuwa had already been announced as insurance for UFC 214 should anything happen to the main event between light heavyweight champion Daniel Cormier (19-1) and former 205 lbs king/resident problem child, Jon Jones (22-1). UFC officials made this exciting match up official today.

Over recent years, the division once ruled by the top draws in the sport had moved over to the shallow end of the spectrum. This past weekend in Stockholm, a former top contender in Alexander Gustaffson reasserted himself as the next guy, while a new contender in Oezdemir fully emerged, giving the division a little more depth and make it a lot more exciting.

Here’s a look at the lineup for UFC 214 ‘Cormier vs. Jones II’ as it stands today:

Light Heavyweight Championship
Daniel Cormier (c) (19-1) vs. Jon Jones (22-1)

Light Heavyweight Bout
Jimi Manuwa (17-2) vs. Volkan Oezdemir (14-1)

Featherweight Bout
Chan Sung Jung (14-4) vs. Ricardo Lamas (17-5)

Bantamweight Bout
Renan Barao (34-4) vs. Aljamian Sterling (13-2)

Featherweight Bout
Doo Ho Choi (14-2) vs. Andre Fili (16-4)

Women’s Strawweight Bout
Kailin Curran (4-4) vs. Alexsandra Albu (2-0)

Lightweight Bout
Sage Northcutt (8-2) vs. Claudio Puelles (7-2)

Lightweight Bout
Josh Burkman (28-15) vs. Drew Dober (17-8)

Heavyweight Bout
Dmitry Smolyakov (8-2) vs. Adam Wieczorek (8-1)

Flyweight Bout
Jarred Brooks (12-0) vs. Eric Shelton (10-3)

Featherweight Bout
Brian Ortega (11-0) vs. Renato Carneiro (11-0-1)