Volkan Oezdemir faces Anthony Smith in UFC Moncton main event

Anthony Smith’s quick rise in the light heavyweight division has its next step set, as he headlines UFC Moncton versus Volkan Oezdemir on Oct. 27. The promotion announced the match-up on Thursday.

Smith (30-13) kicked off 2018 on a three-fight winning streak as a middleweight but lost by TKO to Thiago Santos in February. “Lionheart” decided to move up to 205 pounds shortly after, scoring back-to-back first-round knockouts over former champions Rashad Evans and Mauricio Rua.

Oezdemir (15-2), who recently pulled out from fights with “Shogun” and Alexander Gustafsson for different reasons, hasn’t competed since his second-round loss to light heavyweight champion Daniel Cormier in January. Oezdemir was 3-0 in the UFC prior to that defeat.

The UFC Fight Night card takes place at the Moncton Events Centre in Moncton, New Brunswick, Canada.