UFC London results: Dominick Reyes grinds out split decision over Volkan Oezdemir

An undefeated light heavyweight has another notch on his belt as he climbs the ranks.

Dominick Reyes took on former title challenger Volkan Oezdemir on the main card of Saturday’s UFC London card. The bout was a hard-hitting battle of attrition which could have gone either way. That’s attested to by the judges’ scores at O2 Arena: Three 29-28 cards, two of which went Reyes’ way for a split decision victory.

With the win, Reyes is now 11-0 overall and 5-0 in the UFC.

“It as a tough fight, he was a hell of an opponent,” Reyes said after his third career decision victory. “I took some shots but I gave more but I deserve the one.”

Oezdemir had his best round in the first, despite eating an accidental kick to the groin. He landed well from range but was also proactive about initiating the clinch and got the best of grappling exchanges.

But the pace slowed in the second, which resulted in the tightest stanza in the fight, with cases to be made for either fighter.

Reyes, however, shows the most urgency in the final round, landing nice shots over the final two minutes, which likely sealed the fight in his favor.

Oezdemir (15-4) has now dropped three in a row, dating back to an unsuccessful challenge of then-champion Daniel Cormier at UFC 220.