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Perennial Ultimate Fighting Championship contender Volkan Oezdemir made a statement on Instagram Friday revealing the news of his failed drug test. He does so prior to any statements from the organization or its anti-drug testing wing of Combat Sports Anti-Doping. In February, he failed an out-of-competition test for EPO. The Swiss athlete assumed full responsibility for his actions and explained in detail what took place in this unusual situation. The UFC and CSAD have yet to provide a public statement on the matter, but indicated to MMA Junkie that they worked alongside the World Anti-Doping Agency to review this matter.

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The former light heavyweight title challenger will be out of action for 16 months effective his failed testing date, with CSAD reducing his suspension from 18 months, two years or greater due to his alleged complete cooperation in handling the case. In his statements, Oezdemir indicated that he was app…

The Ultimate Fighting Championship had to dig deep to find someone to face Jan Blachowicz.

On Tuesday, the promotion indicated that the UFC Belgrade co-headliner of Blachowicz vs. Bogdan Guskov would no longer be happening. Due to an injury to Khalil Rountree prior to his main attraction matchup against Magomed Ankalaev the week before, Guskov was pulled from that pairing and slotted against Ankalaev.

With Blachowicz needing a new dance partner, the organization announced on Friday that stepping up on a late notice will be Navajo Stirling (10-0). The two light heavyweights will tangle in the second-to-last match at UFC Fight Night 283, which will go down on Aug. 1 at the Belgrade Arena in the Serbian capital city.

From Guskov to Stirling: A Serbian filmThe former champ from Poland was expecting to rematch Guskov following a surprising majority draw in December. On the UFC 323 main card opener, Guskov dropped his foe in the second stanza and picked up a 10-8 score…

The Nigerian Nightmare at middleweight 🇳🇬@Usman84kg weighs in at 186lbs!

[ #UFCOKC | LIVE JULY 18 at 8pmET on @ParamountPlus ] pic.twitter.com/HEThuZ1dMw

— UFC (@ufc) July 17, 2026 The Ultimate Fighting Championship will look to put on a more satisfying main event than last week, as the UFC Oklahoma City card is now official following the official weigh-ins.

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The UFC OKC main event will see two former champions clash, as former welterweight king Kamaru Usman takes on ex-middleweight champion Dricus Du Plessis. Both men successfully made weight for the five-round middleweight main attraction. As for the rest of the card, lightweight Chase Hooper and featherweight Ezra Elliott missed weight by 1.5 pounds for their respective fights. As a result, they'll each be fined 20% of their purses.

"The Nigerian Nightmare" enters his latest headlining bout after outwrestling Joaquin Buckley last year. That unanimous decision victor…