UFC light heavyweight title challenger Volkan Oezdemir today pleaded not guilty to a felony battery charge and requested a jury trial for allegedly knocking out a man at a bar last August.

Oezdemir (15-1 MMA, 3-0 UFC) was arraigned today in Broward County (Fla.) Seventeenth Judicial Circuit Court and entered his formal plea. His attorney, Bruce A. Zimet, told MMAjunkie the fighter will not miss his title shot against champ Daniel Cormier (19-1 MMA, 8-1 UFC) at UFC 220, which takes place Jan. 20 at TD Garden in Boston.

Oezdemir posted a $10,000 bond following his arrest in November. He remained free after Zimet successfully reversed a request from the state prosecutor’s office to issue a no-bond arrest warrant.

Prior to his arraignment, Oezdemir’s assault charge was downgraded from an aggravated battery charge to felony battery, which carries a potential prison sentence of five years instead of 15 years.

MMAFighting.com initially reported the news of Oezdemir’s plea, which stems from an alleged fight at a bar in Fort Lauderdale, Fla. A bar patron, Kevin Cohen, claims Oezdemir knocked him out and sent him to the hospital with concussion symptoms and lacerations.

At a previous court appearance, Zimet claimed Oezdemir was not the aggressor in the alleged incident.

Oezdemir, MMAjunkie’s 2017 “Breakout Fighter of the Year,” earned his title shot against Cormier after three straight wins to open his UFC tenure, including back-to-back quick knockouts. Cormier was re-crowned light heavyweight champ when Jon Jones failed a drug test for a steroid in their rematch at UFC 214, prompting the promotion to strip him of the title for a second time.

For more on UFC 220, check out the UFC Rumors section of the site.

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