Young Kurdish MMA fighter Oezdemir falls to UFC champion by TKO

ERBIL, Kurdistan Region — Upstart Volkan Oezdemir took his first Ultimate Fighting Championship loss against the world champion in a co-main event on Saturday night in Boston.

Daniel Cormier (20-1 MMA, 9-1 UFC) won the light heavyweight non-title fight with a technical knockout in Round 2 against Oezdemir (15-2 MMA, 3-1 UFC).

"I’ve proved I’m worthy of being called champion, but Volkan’s on the level [of champion]," Cormier said in a post-fight press conference.

The 28-year-old Oezdemir's father is Kurdish originally from Turkey and his mother is Swiss.

Oezdemir entered mixed martial arts first as a kickboxer and got a fight against the division's champion after joining the UFC less than a year ago.

"This fight came really fast," said Oezdemir after the fight. "I was really happy about it. I wanted to prove to everybody that I was able ...."

He came out punching in the first round and put Cormier off balance immediately. Towards the end of the round, Cormier caught an Oezdemir kick, took him to the ground and sank in a rear-naked choke, but Oezdemir was saved by the bell.

Cormier is a 38-year-old American and former Olympic wrestler. He scored the second-round technical knockout

"He capitalized on his wrestling," said Oezdemir. "I wasn't able to stand. So I learned a lot definitely. I felt strong in some positions."

Early in the second round, Cormier used a single-leg takedown to put Oezdemir on his back. After trapping Oezdemir right arm, the referee stopped the fight with two minutes left in the second round when Oezdemir was unable to defend against Cormier who had side control and was raining punches.

"Cormier was definitely the better man tonight," said Oezdemir. "He's a great champ."

Oezdemir had his five-fight winning streak snapped.

"I will improve back on Tuesday in the gym," said Oezdemir, joking that he would need some sunglasses to do some sightseeing in historic Boston before heading back to training camp."

"I will be champion," he said after the fight that was broadcast across the world. "It's just a matter of time."