Volkan Oezdemir vs. ‘Shogun’ Rua pulled from UFC Chile

Volkan Oezdemir’s fight with Mauricio “Shogun” Rua is off.

The light heavyweight duo was scheduled to meet at UFC Chile in Santiago on May 19. However, complications related to Oezdemir’s ongoing legal situation means the South Florida-based fighter won’t be able to leave the country and take the fight.

MMA Fighting’s Ariel Helwani confirmed an initial report by Combate. Additionally, MMA Fighting has learned the UFC is going to attempt to re-book the bout at a later date, preferably some time over the summer.

The Swiss-born Oezdemir had to surrender his passport as part of a third-degree felony battery charge due to an alleged incident at a Ft. Lauderdale nightclub on Aug. 12. He was allowed to travel to Boston and challenge Daniel Cormier for the UFC light heavyweight title at UFC 220 in January, a bout he lost via second-round TKO, but without his passport, he won’t be able to leave the country.

Oezdemir’s case is currently in the discovery process, with the next date in a Broward County courtroom set for May 10.