Volkan Oezdemir ended his losing skid in emphatic fashion with a dominant display of offensive against Ilir Latifi at UFC on ESPN+ 14.

In a matchup that was twice delayed, former UFC title challenger Oezdemir (16-4 MMA, 4-3 UFC) utterly battered Latifi (14-7 MMA, 7-5 UFC) until he stopped and dropped his opponent for a second-round knockout to snap his three-fight slump for his first victory since July 2017.

The light heavyweight bout was part of the UFC on ESPN+ 14 main card at Antel Arena in Montevideo, Uruguay. The event streamed on ESPN+.

The fighters wasted no time getting after it from the open of the bout. Heavy strikes were exchanged from both sides with neither man showing fear of the power from the other side. Latifi had the first big moment of the fight, slamming Oezdemir to the mat from the clinch position, but failing to keep him there long. It went back to the striking realm, where Oezdemir was more effective by mixed up his striking attacks, throwing punches, kicks and flying knee attempts.

Oezdemir picked up where he left off in a big way going into the second round. He put meaningful pressure on Latifi, connecting on big shots against the Swede and forcing “The Sledgehammer” into a defensive shell. He connected with a massive stepping knee that dropped Latifi to the canvas, but he couldn’t finish the fight with a follow-up flurry. That mattered not to Oezdemir, because he kept up with the offensive onslaught and until he hurt Latifi again. He scored another knockdown with punches then followed up with another right hand that ended the show at the 4:31 mark of Round 2.

“I want to fight Jan (Blachowicz) or (Dominick) Reyes again,” Oezdemir said in his post-fight interview with Michael Bisping. “I thought I beat him last time but this time I will put on a more complete performance.”

Up-to-the-minute UFC on ESPN+ 14 results include:

• Volkan Oezdemir def. Ilir Latifi via knockout (punches) – Round 2, 4:31
• Rodolfo Vieira def. Oskar Piechota via submission (arm-triangle choke) – Round 2, 4:26
• Enrique Barzola def. Bobby Moffett via split decision (28-29, 30-27, 29-28)
• Gilbert Burns def. Aleksei Kunchenko via unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28)
• Ciryl Gane def. Raphael Pessoa via submission (arm-triangle choke) – Round 1, 4:12
• Marina Rodriguez def. Tecia Torres via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-26)
• Rogerio Bontorin def. Raulian Paiva via TKO (doctor’s stoppage) – Round 1, 2:56
• Chris Gutierrez def. Geraldo de Freitas via split decision (29-28, 27-30, 29-28)
• Alex da Silva def. Kazula Vargas via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27)
• Veronica Macedo def. Polyana Viana via submission (armbar) – Round 1, 1:09