BOSTON – There are a few angles in which you can look at a situation like Volkan Oezdemir’s.

There’s the obvious (and frustrating) one: Saturday’s UFC 220 co-headliner opposite light-heavyweight champion Daniel Cormier (20-1 MMA, 9-1 UFC) meant not only fast-rising Oezdemir’s (15-2 MMA, 3-1 UFC) first loss in the octagon, but also his failure to capture the 205-pound crown.

But then there’s the glass-half-full approach. After all, MMAjunkie’s “2017 Breakout Fighter of the Year” did get a title bid against one of the sport’s greatest – less than one year after his UFC debut. There’s all that he learned as he prepared for it. And there’s all he got to experience throughout, from the pre-fight banter to the champ’s post-fight words of encouragement – with the actual fight in between.

It seems Oezdemir is choosing to focus on the second option.

“(Cormier) just talked to me a little bit, and we exchanged some words,” Oezdemir told reporters after the pay-per-view co-headliner, which took place at Boston’s TD Arena. “He’s a really cool, and definitely it’s a lot of hype, definitely, before the fight. Just talks. It was fun, definitely. I enjoy all the process.

“I just love the fight game, at the end of the day. It’s something you start to really – you feel a lot of love for this sport and all the different aspects. So there is the outside of the cage, inside of the cage, all of that is a blessing. Because all fight week was amazing. I got all my friends coming here. I got all my team. It was a good moment. I shared a lot of moments with a lot of people” (via Instagram):

It’s safe to say: Anyone who was expecting a pity party from Oezdemir after the loss, which came via second-round TKO, must have been terribly frustrated. Instead, the challenger offered his opponent tons of praise and valued his own title efforts.

Of course, the challenger wanted a win. But you can do worse than rising through the UFC’s 205-pound division at lightening speed, ultimately getting beaten by an opponent who’s not only skilled, but a class act – and get praise from him in the process.

Then, while he’s yet to review the tape, there’s the little bit of comfort Oezdemir could gather from what happened in the cage. While it was a somewhat dominant display by Cormier, Oezdemir did put on some pressure early and was able to fend off Cormier’s wrestling for a bit.

“I think I surprised myself, because I know I have a good position in the close range like that,” Oezdemir said. “So I felt good. I felt really good. Upper body work, greco and stuff – I worked a lot on that. So, definitely, it was a good momentum for me. But then I got caught on the floor once and maybe the second time. And then I got stuck, so I don’t really know.

“But I surprised myself. I realized that I really progressed in my wrestling. I took definitely a lot of commitment into my wrestling training and improving on my defense and my offense and everything. So I’m also happy with what I did do in that fight.”

As for the way it ended, with Oezdemir being pummelled by Cormier from the mounted crucifix position, the challenger was, as it showed, quite stuck. But the damage looked scarier that it really was.

“I mark really easily on my face, and I get red super easily,” Oezdemir said.  “But I wasn’t really rocked. But definitely I (would have taken) a lot of damage, so the referee stopped the fight.”

As of now, the plan for the 28-year-old is to put on some sun glasses over his bruised face. and enjoy the extra day he’s got in Boston. Then, on Tuesday, he’ll be back in the gym – doing more wrestling, of course, but still not neglecting his striking.

And as for his plans a little further down the road?

“I will be champion, that’s for sure,” Oezdemir said . “I will be champion. It’s just a matter of time. Definitely, tonight wasn’t my night. Cormier is definitely one of the best light heavyweights that ever existed. He’s ranked in the pound-for-pound division.

“It’s already a great honor for me to fight this guy so early in my career. But I have so many more years in front of me, and I’m really going to make the best out of it.”

For complete coverage of UFC 220, check out the UFC Events section of the site.