Volkan Oezdemir had his meteoric rise to the top of the UFC’s light heavyweight division abruptly halted by current champ Daniel Cormier, but “No Time” doesn’t believe his ultimate destination has changed.

“It’s all about the goal,” Oezdemir told MMAjunkie. “It’s all about where I’m headed. … I’m still heading toward the same goal. It was not even one year to my title shot, and I guarantee you it’s not going to be another year until I’m champion.”

Oezdemir made his debut for the UFC in February 2017. After racking up wins over Ovince Saint Preux, Misha Cirkunov and Jimi Manuwa, the MMAjunkie “Breakout Fighter of the Year” was given a shot at Cormier’s title in the co-main event of January’s UFC 220.

Oezdemir’s run ended via second-round TKO, but he insists he had no regrets and learned plenty in the matchup.

“I think it’s a little bit of everything,” Oezdemir said. “It’s a big picture. It’s a mix of technique. It’s a mix of understanding the flow, the momentum, the timing during fights. Of course it’s different when you fight the champion and somebody who’s been in there before and fought against the best of the best, so it’s definitely something that you learn from, and this makes you a better fighter.”

Following the loss, Oezdemir battled a staph infection that kept him out of the gym for several weeks. But he took advantage of the downtime and got laser surgery to correct his eyesight, which should pay dividends in the cage, as well.

“I always fought with my contact lens in, and sometimes you get eye-poked or just rubbing the face, and I lose my contact while I’m fighting and then it’s stuck in my eyes or stuff like that,” Oezdemir said. “So it was always a problem, and I just wanted to take care of it.”

While Oezdemir isn’t fully cleared to get punched in the face just yet, he’s using his time in the gym to shore up his wrestling and jiu-jitsu skills in an effort to become as well rounded of a fighter as possible. And he’s got his next fight booked, as well, with Oezdemir (15-2 MMA, 3-1 UFC) facing former champ Mauricio Rua (25-10 MMA, 9-8 UFC) at UFC Fight Night 129 on May 19 from Movistar Arena in Santiago, Chile.

Oezdemir is currently ranked No. 7 in the latest USA TODAY Sports/MMAjunkie MMA light heavyweight rankings, while Rua sits at No. 13, so it’s certainly a meaningful contest. Oezdemir said he actually was trying to get a fight with either No. 5 Alexander Gustafsson or No. 6 Glover Teixeira, but timing simply wouldn’t allow for that to work.

Stil, Oezdemir said he’s happy with the “Shogun” matchup.

“I wanted to fight Glover first or Gustafsson, but we couldn’t agree to anything,” Oezdemir said. “Then they offered ‘Shogun,’ and it was in Chile. It was a brand new market. I would love to visit the place. I would love to visit Peru, also, Argentina – all those countries. So I was like, yeah, it makes perfect sense to me, fighting a former champion.

“In all my division, ‘Shogun’ is the guy I would love to fight the most. It’s a fight that makes me the most excited. It’s somebody who I watched growing up and I was looking up to when I started fighting, so I have to take the chance. If I can fight him right now before he retires, I have to do it. Maybe in a few years he won’t be there anymore.”

Rua, 36, has certainly endured his share of setbacks during his UFC run. But the Brazilian slugger is currently on a three-fight winning streak, the most consecutive wins he’s netted since his time in PRIDE.

Oezdemir said he still sees danger in facing Rua.

“‘Shogun’ is somebody I definitely want to fight because of everything he accomplished and the fact that I’ve been watching him for so long, so it’s such an honor for me,” Oezdemir said. “He might be somebody, also, that everybody knows at home, even more than some stars right now that are in their prime.

“He’s a name, for sure, and definitely brings more attention to this fight because it’s a mix of everything. The fact that I’m able right now to be at the level of the people and am able to fight the people I was watching, everything is magic.”

Oezdemir certainly seemed to have a little magic on his side during his run to his first tile shot. Now the Swiss light heavyweight insists he’ll do it again.

Doubt him at your own peril.

“Everything can happen fast,” Oezdemir said. “We saw that last year with me. Everything can happen really fast. You just need to make the right decisions and take the right opportunities.”

For more on UFC Fight Night 129, check out the UFC Rumors section of the site.