#9 ranked UFC light heavyweight Volkan Oezdemir is building up towards another title shot. The Swiss national joined the UFC in 2017, stepping in on short notice to face Ovince Saint Preux at UFC Fight Night 104. The now 34-year-old was not very impressive on his UFC debut, only managing to eke out a split-decision victory. This changed dramatically in his next two fights, where he knocked out Jimi Manuwa and Misha Cirkunov in the first round. After which he was given a title shot against Daniel Cormier.

Alas, he lost the bout and followed it up with two consecutive defeats against UFC stars Anthony Smith and Dominick Reyes, stopping the momentum he had built. Since then, he has fought seven times and won four of those bouts. But now, he is gearing up to face #7 ranked light heavyweight Johnny Walker at UFC 303 on the main card of Saudi Arabia’s first UFC event on June 22. Two of the most crucial factors behind his success are the gym and the coaches he trains under.

Volkan Oezdemir moved to Sweden to train at an elite MMA gym

When Volkan Oezdemir started off his mixed martial arts journey in the European circuit, he was affiliated with the Golden Glory gym in the Netherlands. Although born and raised in Switzerland, he had to go to a fellow EU member country because the MMA infrastructure was not as developed in his native country. Since then, he has moved around a lot, hopping from gym to gym, including a less than one-year stint (in 2015) at the Blackzilians gym in Boca Raton, Florida.

In addition, he has trained at the Fight Move Academy, as well as Combat Club, since embarking on his MMA journey back in 2010. However, after changing quite a few gyms, Oezdemir seemingly finally found his MMA training home as he joined the ‘Allstars Training Center’ in 2022.

“I changed a lot right now. I’m establishing myself to Sweden. Right now I’m in the process of moving from my house, so I’m saying goodbye to Switzerland. I’m going to Allstars, I’m going to train with Khamzat, Darren Till, Alexander Gustafsson, all those beasts over there…it’s really good, I’m really happy, I’m making all the necessary changes. I have this fire inside of me, and I need the proper team around me and Allstars will be it,” he said in a 2022 interview with ‘Blockasset’.

The now 34-year-old revealed that the reason he had made this move was because of the quality of fighters at the Andreas Michael-led gym, which has produced some big UFC stars since its inception in 2013.

Volkan Oezdemir’s coaches and teammates

The Allstars Training Center that Oezdemir joined in 2022 is headed by coach Andreas Michael. He was a coach for Sweden’s Olympics boxing team before starting the gym in 2013 with UFC light heavyweight star Alexander Gustafsson, and Majdi Shammas, who looks after the operations side of things and serves as the manager and CEO for the Swedish gym.

The gym has seen some stellar fighters come out of it, including Khamzat Chimaev, who took Emirati nationality a few months ago and lives and trains in the UAE now. However, he still occasionally visits the gym to train as he did earlier this year. Another promising UFC star who used to train at the gym when Oezdemir joined it was middleweight Darren Till who chose to leave the UFC in 2023 and has seemingly ended his MMA career because of persistent injuries.

Even Gustafsson, who is also co-owner of the gym, is largely inactive and hasn’t fought since 2022. And if Oezdemir can become champion soon, he will be the first of these illustrious fighters to become a UFC champ. First, however, he needs to deal with the dynamic and ever-dangerous Johnny Walker on the historic Saudi Arabia card.

Who do you think will win at the UFC Fight Night on June 22? Drop your predictions in the comments below.