A Stability Theorem for Maximal $C_{2k+1}$-free Graphs

For any positive integer $k$, we show that every maximal $C_{2k+1}$-free graph with at least $n^2/4-o(n^{3/2})$ edges contains an induced complete bipartite subgraph on $(1-o(1))n$ vertices. We also show that this is best possible.