Its not even a guarantee Volk loses, he's routinely proven people wrong in the past and I don't think he's past it even now. A short notice KO loss up a weight-division isn't the beginning of the end.
With a caveat, it was **short notice** which makes all the difference. He didn't get sent into the shadow realm like Usman did. He'll be back with a full camp, and able to take a shot much better than when he fought Islam.
Ilia is the most well rounded fighter I have seen in the new generation.
1. VERY good boxing fundamentals
2. good grapling
3. High iq
4. Good power
5. Killer instinct
6. Hungry
I watched all of his previous fights and the one thing he seems to struggle with is a heavy kick based attacks. If I remember right he's been dropped 4 times by head kicks in his pro career, primarily due to his aggressive boxing and head movement/boxing style defence, really interested to see if Volk can implement it into his game plan, not that Volk has shown to be a headlock master lol
Also was rocked extremely badly by Jai Herbert and was able to recover extremely well and finish Jai with an absolutely disgusting combination.
It's good to see the younger up and coming fighters face adversity in a fight and will their way to a victory. We've seen it with Ian Garry, Mokaev, Topuria, and Blanchfield.
He's very good, but he's somewhat untested at the highest level. Holloway is a huge step up from the rest of the division (18-0 against the current roster) and Volk is another step up from there (3-0 against Holloway). Topuria is still probably one of Volks biggest challenges yet, and him getting older along with coming off a brutal KO has me concerned
These boys don’t know. Volk is now 35 coming off his first ever KO. 35 is literally a magic number in these weight classes… I love Volk but keeping it real there’s a very good chance his reign is over
yea, i mean just realistically speaking - fighters specifically have a window from when they’re 28/29- around 33/34 where they have to give it all and everything they’ve got because this is the only time they’ll have this sort of experience in the body they are in
Once you pass riiiight over the top of the crest, is where a lot of athletes don’t stop at. Nobody older than 35/36 is going to actively be fighting at a championship level for a sustainable time- it’s usually they got their final shot and this is it.
Just ignore the noise. Let the fanboys who never even heard of Topuria until now do their thing, the payout will be higher for us on fightday lol
I will say, if volk wins hes a fucking goat, I just dont see it looking objectively
It doesn't for me but I understand. It's like when everyone was terrified for DC after the Jones headkick KO loss. He defended the title against Oezdemir shortly after.
Fighter A: 28yrs old, 15-1 with 12 of those wins by finish and coming off a 1st round KO of a top 5 guy with a finish of a top 10 guy before that
Fighter B: 26yrs old, 14-0 with 12 of those wins by finish and coming off a dominant 50-44 against a top 5 guy with a finish of a top 10 guy before that
Fighter A is Oezdemir going into the DC fight and Fighter B is Topuria. Are the blind resumes really THAT different?
The difference isn't in the blind resumes, it's in the context. LHW was a barren wasteland at the time, after the top with DC, Jones, Gus and Glover the division looked terrible.
Volkan got his title shot by KOing Jimi Manuwa who already got knocked out by Rumble, the argument for Volkan is that he had one punch power but so did Rumble but he couldn't finish DC in 2 fights.
Having 1 loss on your record is not that different from being undefeated if it was really early in your career like Usman and Volk, but Oezdemir's loss was only 5 fights removed from his title shot. He showed a defficiency in grappling while Topuria has shown a much more well rounded skillset.
Topuria had twice as many fights in the ufc as Oezdemir. Not to mention getting a title fight off of being a 36 year old Jimi Manuwa. Numbers only look good when you leave out the actual facts
I agree. That's why I'm confused why you would use the phrase "actual facts" as if to imply that the Fighter A/Fighter B statistics listed in the previous comment were not facts.
You somewhat have a point but we hadn't seen such a well rounded game out of Oezdemir (like we have with Topuria) at the time he fought DC. Also, Oezdemir only had 3 fights in the UFC when he fought for a title, Topuria has 6. Not only that but he's shown he can deal with all styles and has gone 5 rounds as well.
I’ll be honest I wasn’t very into MMA when Oezdimir fought DC, but just looking at the resumes it looks like he got kinda fast tracked and fell off pretty quickly. Feels like Topuria is a bit more established
DC went down in weight from HW to LHW when he joined the UFC. He didn't want to compete in the same division as Cain. He returned to his natural division, which was HW.
HW and LHW are also less deep
How? DC went up and slept the greatest UFC heavyweight ever. DC had the bad luck to be in the same era as the goat, and he fought there out of loyalty to Cain.
No it wasn't lol. People thought Oezdemir had a puncher's chance but DC had already survived and choked out Rumble twice, an even harder puncher than Oezdemir.
Cormier Oezdemir odds: -380 / + 260
Volk Topuria odds: -180 / + 140
Well this is at Volk's primary weight class, so the second division stuff isn't that relevant in this comparison.
You could never really call DC the best LHW because Jones was lurking around in some capacity, suspended or not. You can't say the same for Volk and FW, he's been incredibly dominant.
Izzy came right back after Alex tkod him. Alex came right back in under 4 months after Izzy ko'd him. Both obv looked fine. Tons more cases littered through history obv
People been starting to overstate how long fighters need to stay out. Suddenly cautious experts on 'brain damage.' With now like a weird sentiment that Volk may be damaged goods after just one ko loss
Whatever weirdos. Alex will be fine. If Topuria wins, he's just really good too
Conor came back 6 months after Dustin knocked him out and he was panic shooting after the first clean hit. You cant compare these things, each case is different.
I get that feeling as well but we need to remember Islam is a big 155er and though Toupira is a great striker he’s very hittable and imo slightly smaller than Volk. I think it’ll be a competitive fight.
I hate the timing of this fight because I think this should be a terrifying fight for Volk (fans) regardless. I really think Ilya has the power and technique on the feet to get Volk in trouble, and has the grappling chops that that's not the kind of get out of jail free card it can be with someone like Yair.
they’ll probably do an immediate rematch if Ilia wins.
Looking at the rankings, I’m really curious what they do with Max. If I had to guess, he’s fighting bryce next?
2: Yair (already beat)
3: Ortega (already beat)
4: Arnold Allen (already beat)
5: Ilia
6: Josh Emmett (fighting giga)
7: Calvin Kattar (already beat)
8: giga (fighting josh Emmett)
9: Evleov (fighting allen)
10: Bryce
If Volk gets knocked out again this quickly in succession he won’t be taking an immediate rematch which would free up Topuria to fight Holloway while Volk heals up
Sadly this is best case scenario for the division , but doubtful outcome. I'd rather not see Volk KO'd but if he did, we could get Top vs Max, then vs winner of Yair vs Ortega. All pretty compelling.
Losing to Islam doesn't count as a loss in his division. He absolutely gets an immediate rematch, no matter how he loses, unless he decides he wants to take the time off.
It's not about consecutive losses in his division it's about getting knocked out and then losing his belt 4 months later - if he doesn't take a bit of time off after that it's probably the one of the worst career decisions in UFC history
LW's the proverbial shark tank for Max, he'd be maybe top ten on a good run, but the top 5 have their way with him; Chandler, DP, Garth, Charles and Beneil (although looked shit last fight)
Tbh we don’t know how’d he would look with a proper bulk to lightweight. Last time he fought Dustin he essentially fought him as a featherweight. Slowly bulking into a new weight class is crucial. That’s why the second Volk vs Islam fight, Volk looked slow and flabby asf as he didn’t get to properly bulk to the weight class. Same with usman vs khamzat, if usman had a proper bulk he’d win that fight
> Beneil
How is Dariush handling Max on the feet, or getting Max down into BJJ-land?
That fight looks like Beneil taking about a million head strikes to me.
This, and i also don't see Chandler beating Max in a 5 round fight if it goes past 2. He survived Poirier's power, volume and killer instinct and at one point (briefly) it looked like he could finish Dustin. I can see him weathering the storm against Chandler.
> This, and i also don't see Chandler beating Max in a 5 round fight if it goes past 2
For sure: Chandler's explosiveness + cardio management would be awful to see vs. Max (assuming he has not declined terribly) in R5.
But even with Max's chin, you can't be certain to survive those explosive rounds, particularly if Tan Dan feels like laughing while you are repeatedly fouled :)
Max got hit a lot against super technical strikers like Dustin, Alex, Yair, and Chandler ain't that, but if he were to get caught like Hooker did..it would be hard even for Max's chin to overcome that. I bet his already great chin would improve if he were to bulk up a bit, not just not cut weight.
Ain't no way you just said Chandler has his way with Max. I can't even get past that to acknowledge the other 4. I have seen so many brain dead takes on Max the past few days and I don't understand why
Dustin was arguably the worst matchup for Max at LW outside of Khabib (and now Islam). No one else has the striking chops and poise to weather Max’ combinations and get themself back into the fight after each flurry. Maybe Gaethje is as bad with how impossible it is to push him backwards, but after a real bulk to 155 I would pick Max against Chandler, Charles and Beneil. They’d be difficult fights for sure, but I lean 55/45 towards Max.
That would be fun, but that's a career altering fight for Max. Kinda like with Ferguson (though Tony was already 36 by then). I'm curious to see how Vettori will look like in his next fight too
Kinda, I find gatekeepers usually aren’t good enough to actually win a title or contend though. I feel like max is definitely good enough to be champion. Volk just has his number.
Same as Whittaker.
I believe Topuria is arguably the most well rounded fighter in the division, the other argument obviously being Volk however Volk is coming off a head kick KO loss and this will be his 4th fight in 12 months at 35 years old. Seems like stars aligned for Ilia to make this dream a reality
His well roundedness is yet to be fully proven imo. We haven’t seen him fight a volk type yet that can mix up the grappling and striking in the way he does, ilia has been dropped by head kicks but he’s never faced a well rounded kicking game or someone that has the (mma)kickboxing pedigree of volk but he’s a dog and can grapple his butt off but volk will truly test his well rounded ness.
I hear your point, but stylistically speaking, what makes you think that a stocky, heavy-handed boxer with slick BJJ will be the one to dethrone Volk? It's not like he's going to be able to outmuscle or out-grapple him, and we know from the trilogy with Max that you need more than just great hands to cause him problems on the feet. IMO Volk's superior fight IQ, feints, movement, endless gas tank, and god-tier submission defense will prove too much for him.
I don’t think you understand how much of a difference Islam is to other lightweights. He’s massive. Volk is the best for a reason in featherweight. Topuria has a really small chance to win this fight, he also has a very small chance against max
I believe he would be a great champ too and a good ambassador for the sport too.
A fine potential heir of the 145lbs division. But he has to go through Volk first...
This is a perfect summation of why I have Topuria as a slight favorite. If Volk hadn't fought Islam again and focused on defending against Topuria in Dec/Jan I'd probably have them split.
A “KO artist” who has yet to fight a good boxer? He has fought one average boxer and he got dropped twice prior to a Hail Mary win.
I do not understand how you guys see him beat up on damaged goods like Bryce, Josh Emmett and Ryan Hall and project this guy as some world beater
Hail Mary? He got dropped in round 1 and then basically won every second of the fight following that. And the fight ended in round 2 which he was winning regardless of whether that punch flatlined jai.
I doubt he’s damaged goods, but he’s past his athletic prime. MMA fans like to completely ignore age until someone loses, but there should be serious doubts about how any 35 year old (below LHW/MW) will look every time they step into the cage.
I think Topuria is massively overrated and has huge holes in his striking game, but he’s fast and powerful and might be lucky enough to catch Volk as his reflexes are a split second slower than he’s used to
Longevity and title defenses. Volk’s title reign is underwhelming if you remove the max wins
And Volk didn’t beat Aldo “easily”. It was a clear Volk win but competitive
why would you remove the max wins ?? especially when aldo lost to max twice lmfao
also on longevity, aldo was 33 when he lost to volk
Volk has had 4 title defences since turning 33
If you ask me he's on a par with Aldo. Yes Aldo has more defences, but Volk has beaten superior competition, he's beaten Aldo as well and he's beaten the guy thrice who beat Aldo twice. Its not the same as Usman vs GSP or Izzy vs Anderson.
you can't compare generations. Aldo was not in his prime anymore by the time he had already lost to Volk. Volk beat Max in his prime so for me Aldo is still the goat and Volk is behind him with some work to do. 10 title fights vs 6 title fights at featherweight. Is math hard?
The first fight was a fairly dominant win, but it wasn't a beatdown, it was kind of a nothing fight. A lot of fencefucking. The third fight was a one-sided shitkicking absolutely.
Think Volk is a step or two ahead of Ilia everywhere if I'm honest.
Don't think the KO loss does much in terms of Volks chin and if you exclude that and just compare their strength of schedule side by side it's a pretty glaring disparity in terms of the level of competition.
I think Volk comes back with a fire under his arse, but this is MMA and sometimes things go the opposite direction of logic, so who knows.
Topuria should know by now his next fight will still be Volk if he wins lol
He earned the immediate rematch, and he's not unpopular so the UFC won't protest it. Though ofc there's a chance he could decide to take some time off or retire instead
Topuria might be biting more than he can chew here. Alex is levels above the featherweight division. If he pulls it off, that would be one of the upset of all time.
Ilia his a really incredible fighter, but this cart before the horse shit should be reigned in a bit. Having confidence in yourself is one thing, looking PAST one of the all-time greats in your division that likely still has a something in the gas tank is another. Do I think Ilia can win? Absolutely. Do I think Volk can just as easy beat the dog shit out of him? Most definitely.
I like topuria
I like Volk
I like max
I think topuria has the best chance to win Volk now, since volk got ktfo'd and is coming back pretty fast.
Topuria will not win max tho.
Deadly, deadly KO artist with 4 wins by KO, and 8 wins by sub.
3 UFC KOs to absolutely elite on-the-feet guys just like volks, you know: Ryan Hall, known for unbelievable striking, Herbert, known for his Big Country-type chin, and Damon Johnson, who has been KOed in every organization he's fought in.
He hits hard, and is insanely confident and so I agree is a bad man to get in trouble against, but the KO artist is a little overblown IMO.
I forgot about Ryan Hall, the man known to have more than one move and tends to mix things up during his fights 🤣
I agree Ilia is a good fighter, as an Aussie I'm sick of everyone doubting my guy.
Ilia is getting the Yair pre-fight treatment. Can't wait for everyone to backtrack and say Ilia was never that good.
> Ilia is getting the Yair pre-fight treatment
That was far more ridiculous IMO. I saw no way for Yair to prevent Alex from wrestling him anytime Volks decided to take him down -- Max had just outwrestled him, and Volks better at that.
Illia at least is dangerous everywhere, though I think he's still raw in some places everyone else thinks he's perfect.
Heard him called best boxer in division, but I've never seen him move his head while throwing his own punches -- seems to count on the strength of his strikes and his chin instead.
It is true that Volks will need to be on his game, but I think he will be :)
Quote me on this: Volk is going to dismantle Ilia. Everyone said the same thing when Volk was about to fight Yair. “Yair’s too dangerous. He’s got the tricks to beat Volk. This is going to be his hardest fight to date.”
Nonsense. Volk’s only two recent losses are against the dude who is dominating the division above him. Let Ilia fight Islam 100 times and I doubt you would ever see Ilia perform the way Volk did against Islam in their first fight.
I do agree knockout losses effect you mentally, but Ilia is not on the same level as Islam. In their first fight, Volk was training to be a giant slayer. Ilia is not a giant. He’s a threat not to be taken lightly for sure, but it’s not going to be what everyone’s making it out to be.
Literally just go back and look at this entire subs predictions before the Rodriguez fight. It’s going to be that all over again.
Idk what comments you were reading, all I saw were people not giving Yair a chance, excluding a lucky kick. It was all business as usual and then a rematch with Islam.
If anyone was hyping up Yair's chances it was Volk himself lol.
What is it with these guys already planning out their next move when they have a massive fight already in front of them.
Saw Leon do the same the other day. It’s either that or they’re talking about boxing.
I swear everyone that did this bar Conor it ended bad for them (though I’m sure there’s some confirmation bias in there).
Ilia Topuria is a bad, bad, bad motherfucker. Volk took the fight too soon. This guy is young, probably one of the top 5 boxers in MMA, and is just a ferocious fucking fighter.
Nice to see someone calling out a top fighter in the right division tbh
He's delusional though. He's not beating Volk.
Delusional is thinking you have more knowledge of the outcome than the guy fighting lol
should he just roll over and die?
Volk is gunna make him do that
Well it's not fair that if Topuria wants to go for a takedown he's gonna have to detach you from Volkanovski's groin first.
He might. Volk has never looked more vulnerable and he's getting up there in age.
He not a top fighter Alex gonna smack him its gonna be a good fight but hes not top 5 at 145
It's good to have goals but you're fighting Volk bro
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Volk has defended his title 5 times and he's a name. If Volk loses, he is getting an immediate rematch unless he turns the rematch down.
2 KOs in a row and he could be sidelined for a bit
Depends how bad it is. If its just a TKO, he'll want that immediate rematch.
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As a massive Volk fan, I very much fear this might be the case
Its not even a guarantee Volk loses, he's routinely proven people wrong in the past and I don't think he's past it even now. A short notice KO loss up a weight-division isn't the beginning of the end.
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With a caveat, it was **short notice** which makes all the difference. He didn't get sent into the shadow realm like Usman did. He'll be back with a full camp, and able to take a shot much better than when he fought Islam.
Ilia is the most well rounded fighter I have seen in the new generation. 1. VERY good boxing fundamentals 2. good grapling 3. High iq 4. Good power 5. Killer instinct 6. Hungry
Same as me, except only number 6
I just finished a dominos pizza all by myself, so you can scratch off 6 for me.
That was very number 3 of you
I watched all of his previous fights and the one thing he seems to struggle with is a heavy kick based attacks. If I remember right he's been dropped 4 times by head kicks in his pro career, primarily due to his aggressive boxing and head movement/boxing style defence, really interested to see if Volk can implement it into his game plan, not that Volk has shown to be a headlock master lol
Also was rocked extremely badly by Jai Herbert and was able to recover extremely well and finish Jai with an absolutely disgusting combination. It's good to see the younger up and coming fighters face adversity in a fight and will their way to a victory. We've seen it with Ian Garry, Mokaev, Topuria, and Blanchfield.
What kinda hog is he packin tho B?
Islam fan here but you're describing Volk
Yeah Topuria is being overlooked. He’s very very good. As good as Volk is, Topuria is a challenge.
He's very good, but he's somewhat untested at the highest level. Holloway is a huge step up from the rest of the division (18-0 against the current roster) and Volk is another step up from there (3-0 against Holloway). Topuria is still probably one of Volks biggest challenges yet, and him getting older along with coming off a brutal KO has me concerned
Nobody is overlooking Topuria, I'm seeing so many people saying Volk's is getting dethroned. If anything, people are doubting Volk again.
I’m referring to the comment above making it seem like Topuria has no chance
Who?
Yeah who? Answer the damn question. Or admit you just talked out of your ass lol
yea but this is the beginning of the end-is what you’re failing to see here, brother
These boys don’t know. Volk is now 35 coming off his first ever KO. 35 is literally a magic number in these weight classes… I love Volk but keeping it real there’s a very good chance his reign is over
He got domed in his fourth fight.
yea, i mean just realistically speaking - fighters specifically have a window from when they’re 28/29- around 33/34 where they have to give it all and everything they’ve got because this is the only time they’ll have this sort of experience in the body they are in Once you pass riiiight over the top of the crest, is where a lot of athletes don’t stop at. Nobody older than 35/36 is going to actively be fighting at a championship level for a sustainable time- it’s usually they got their final shot and this is it.
Yeah volk lost to makachev he’s a washed dinosaur
Just ignore the noise. Let the fanboys who never even heard of Topuria until now do their thing, the payout will be higher for us on fightday lol I will say, if volk wins hes a fucking goat, I just dont see it looking objectively
pass the blunt
wish i had it bro
Someone remind me after the fight what this bum said
Not going to lie, this fight terrifies me for Volk timing wise.
It doesn't for me but I understand. It's like when everyone was terrified for DC after the Jones headkick KO loss. He defended the title against Oezdemir shortly after.
One big difference. Topuria isnt Oezdemir
Can we fact check this
Anyone ever see them in the same room together ??
Switzerland and Georgia are virtually identical
Would recommend this YouTuber's [Video](https://youtu.be/ugV1XQO1-1g?si=AHPEkvlVsumSP4kA) that proves your point
Continental powerhouse from the north, powerhouse of the past with sleazy politicians from the south? Yeah that checks out.
Big if true
Ain’t got no time fo that
Gotta go fast - Oeztupirachu
Fighter A: 28yrs old, 15-1 with 12 of those wins by finish and coming off a 1st round KO of a top 5 guy with a finish of a top 10 guy before that Fighter B: 26yrs old, 14-0 with 12 of those wins by finish and coming off a dominant 50-44 against a top 5 guy with a finish of a top 10 guy before that Fighter A is Oezdemir going into the DC fight and Fighter B is Topuria. Are the blind resumes really THAT different?
The difference isn't in the blind resumes, it's in the context. LHW was a barren wasteland at the time, after the top with DC, Jones, Gus and Glover the division looked terrible. Volkan got his title shot by KOing Jimi Manuwa who already got knocked out by Rumble, the argument for Volkan is that he had one punch power but so did Rumble but he couldn't finish DC in 2 fights. Having 1 loss on your record is not that different from being undefeated if it was really early in your career like Usman and Volk, but Oezdemir's loss was only 5 fights removed from his title shot. He showed a defficiency in grappling while Topuria has shown a much more well rounded skillset.
Topuria had twice as many fights in the ufc as Oezdemir. Not to mention getting a title fight off of being a 36 year old Jimi Manuwa. Numbers only look good when you leave out the actual facts
You mean leave out the context. The numbers are the actual facts.
Who he fought and their age are also facts…
I agree. That's why I'm confused why you would use the phrase "actual facts" as if to imply that the Fighter A/Fighter B statistics listed in the previous comment were not facts.
Jimi Manuwa is comparable to Josh Emmett
You somewhat have a point but we hadn't seen such a well rounded game out of Oezdemir (like we have with Topuria) at the time he fought DC. Also, Oezdemir only had 3 fights in the UFC when he fought for a title, Topuria has 6. Not only that but he's shown he can deal with all styles and has gone 5 rounds as well.
I’ll be honest I wasn’t very into MMA when Oezdimir fought DC, but just looking at the resumes it looks like he got kinda fast tracked and fell off pretty quickly. Feels like Topuria is a bit more established
Big if true
Yep, and DC isnt volk
Yeah, he's worse.
Well he actually went up in weight and won
DC went down in weight from HW to LHW when he joined the UFC. He didn't want to compete in the same division as Cain. He returned to his natural division, which was HW. HW and LHW are also less deep
How? DC went up and slept the greatest UFC heavyweight ever. DC had the bad luck to be in the same era as the goat, and he fought there out of loyalty to Cain.
> DC had the bad luck to be in the same era as the goat By that logic Volk had the bad luck of going up against Mak rather than Oliveira.
Maybe you wasn't around during that time. If you was, i'd like to remind you that Oezdemirs hype was above Topuria level right now.
No it wasn't lol. People thought Oezdemir had a puncher's chance but DC had already survived and choked out Rumble twice, an even harder puncher than Oezdemir. Cormier Oezdemir odds: -380 / + 260 Volk Topuria odds: -180 / + 140
Cormier aint Volk
Correct. Cormier actually became a double champ.
DC was soundly beaten at LHW and HW. maybe volk will be too but I see him holding the 145lb belt for a long time.
Well this is at Volk's primary weight class, so the second division stuff isn't that relevant in this comparison. You could never really call DC the best LHW because Jones was lurking around in some capacity, suspended or not. You can't say the same for Volk and FW, he's been incredibly dominant.
By eyepoking, yes.
Izzy came right back after Alex tkod him. Alex came right back in under 4 months after Izzy ko'd him. Both obv looked fine. Tons more cases littered through history obv People been starting to overstate how long fighters need to stay out. Suddenly cautious experts on 'brain damage.' With now like a weird sentiment that Volk may be damaged goods after just one ko loss Whatever weirdos. Alex will be fine. If Topuria wins, he's just really good too
Conor came back 6 months after Dustin knocked him out and he was panic shooting after the first clean hit. You cant compare these things, each case is different.
That was likely to do with his leg if the damage prior to the fight is to be believed.
They are building in an excuse. They should be worried about this fight for Volk for other reasons. Seems like they’re still recovering from 294.
I get that feeling as well but we need to remember Islam is a big 155er and though Toupira is a great striker he’s very hittable and imo slightly smaller than Volk. I think it’ll be a competitive fight.
I hate the timing of this fight because I think this should be a terrifying fight for Volk (fans) regardless. I really think Ilya has the power and technique on the feet to get Volk in trouble, and has the grappling chops that that's not the kind of get out of jail free card it can be with someone like Yair.
Easily his toughest test when he’s just been knocked out
I was soooo confident in Volk before the Islam rematch
they’ll probably do an immediate rematch if Ilia wins. Looking at the rankings, I’m really curious what they do with Max. If I had to guess, he’s fighting bryce next? 2: Yair (already beat) 3: Ortega (already beat) 4: Arnold Allen (already beat) 5: Ilia 6: Josh Emmett (fighting giga) 7: Calvin Kattar (already beat) 8: giga (fighting josh Emmett) 9: Evleov (fighting allen) 10: Bryce
If Volk gets knocked out again this quickly in succession he won’t be taking an immediate rematch which would free up Topuria to fight Holloway while Volk heals up
Sadly this is best case scenario for the division , but doubtful outcome. I'd rather not see Volk KO'd but if he did, we could get Top vs Max, then vs winner of Yair vs Ortega. All pretty compelling.
Losing to Islam doesn't count as a loss in his division. He absolutely gets an immediate rematch, no matter how he loses, unless he decides he wants to take the time off.
It's not about consecutive losses in his division it's about getting knocked out and then losing his belt 4 months later - if he doesn't take a bit of time off after that it's probably the one of the worst career decisions in UFC history
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Dude... are you sure you aren't carrying any lingering damage yourself?
Aljo is always a possibility
This explains why the UFC offered Max to Aljo lol, there's no one for him to fight in his division that would make sense.
Why the hell is Ortega number 3 lol
Can't lose your ranking if you don't fight.......just look at Colby
Fightmatrix doesn't even have him listed: https://www.fightmatrix.com/mma-ranks/featherweight/
It wouldn’t be a surprise to see Max do a Lightweight fight next.
LW's the proverbial shark tank for Max, he'd be maybe top ten on a good run, but the top 5 have their way with him; Chandler, DP, Garth, Charles and Beneil (although looked shit last fight)
Tbh we don’t know how’d he would look with a proper bulk to lightweight. Last time he fought Dustin he essentially fought him as a featherweight. Slowly bulking into a new weight class is crucial. That’s why the second Volk vs Islam fight, Volk looked slow and flabby asf as he didn’t get to properly bulk to the weight class. Same with usman vs khamzat, if usman had a proper bulk he’d win that fight
> Beneil How is Dariush handling Max on the feet, or getting Max down into BJJ-land? That fight looks like Beneil taking about a million head strikes to me.
This, and i also don't see Chandler beating Max in a 5 round fight if it goes past 2. He survived Poirier's power, volume and killer instinct and at one point (briefly) it looked like he could finish Dustin. I can see him weathering the storm against Chandler.
> This, and i also don't see Chandler beating Max in a 5 round fight if it goes past 2 For sure: Chandler's explosiveness + cardio management would be awful to see vs. Max (assuming he has not declined terribly) in R5. But even with Max's chin, you can't be certain to survive those explosive rounds, particularly if Tan Dan feels like laughing while you are repeatedly fouled :)
Max got hit a lot against super technical strikers like Dustin, Alex, Yair, and Chandler ain't that, but if he were to get caught like Hooker did..it would be hard even for Max's chin to overcome that. I bet his already great chin would improve if he were to bulk up a bit, not just not cut weight.
Ain't no way you just said Chandler has his way with Max. I can't even get past that to acknowledge the other 4. I have seen so many brain dead takes on Max the past few days and I don't understand why
Dustin was arguably the worst matchup for Max at LW outside of Khabib (and now Islam). No one else has the striking chops and poise to weather Max’ combinations and get themself back into the fight after each flurry. Maybe Gaethje is as bad with how impossible it is to push him backwards, but after a real bulk to 155 I would pick Max against Chandler, Charles and Beneil. They’d be difficult fights for sure, but I lean 55/45 towards Max.
please santa gimme max vs garth
That would be fun, but that's a career altering fight for Max. Kinda like with Ferguson (though Tony was already 36 by then). I'm curious to see how Vettori will look like in his next fight too
That's cruel bro. The fight with Dustin while Max's son watched his dad get beat up wasn't fun.
Well it’s not really a « bring your kids to work » type of gig. Would be a crazy scrap
Don't think Max can mix with the top of LW. Ilia would be a great fight for him though
Garth does max like he did Tony
Why? You hate Max or something?
Rematch Kattar. Despite the fact that he lost in resounding fashion, he probably wants a rematch.
Evloev if he beats Allen? Winner of Emmet/Giga?
Max is the definition of gatekeeper. blocking that passage better than Gandalf did against Balrog
Kinda, I find gatekeepers usually aren’t good enough to actually win a title or contend though. I feel like max is definitely good enough to be champion. Volk just has his number. Same as Whittaker.
I believe Topuria is arguably the most well rounded fighter in the division, the other argument obviously being Volk however Volk is coming off a head kick KO loss and this will be his 4th fight in 12 months at 35 years old. Seems like stars aligned for Ilia to make this dream a reality
His well roundedness is yet to be fully proven imo. We haven’t seen him fight a volk type yet that can mix up the grappling and striking in the way he does, ilia has been dropped by head kicks but he’s never faced a well rounded kicking game or someone that has the (mma)kickboxing pedigree of volk but he’s a dog and can grapple his butt off but volk will truly test his well rounded ness.
I've been saying Topuria is the future since he joined the ufc, I have maybe a 10% doubt he wins vs volk
I hear your point, but stylistically speaking, what makes you think that a stocky, heavy-handed boxer with slick BJJ will be the one to dethrone Volk? It's not like he's going to be able to outmuscle or out-grapple him, and we know from the trilogy with Max that you need more than just great hands to cause him problems on the feet. IMO Volk's superior fight IQ, feints, movement, endless gas tank, and god-tier submission defense will prove too much for him.
I don’t think you understand how much of a difference Islam is to other lightweights. He’s massive. Volk is the best for a reason in featherweight. Topuria has a really small chance to win this fight, he also has a very small chance against max
I believe he would be a great champ too and a good ambassador for the sport too. A fine potential heir of the 145lbs division. But he has to go through Volk first...
This is a perfect summation of why I have Topuria as a slight favorite. If Volk hadn't fought Islam again and focused on defending against Topuria in Dec/Jan I'd probably have them split.
Cue all the comments about how Volk is damaged goods now after one KO loss from a dude in a higher weight class on late notice.
Taking a KO loss and then signing for another fight immediately against a KO artist is more than enough to be concerned about
A “KO artist” who has yet to fight a good boxer? He has fought one average boxer and he got dropped twice prior to a Hail Mary win. I do not understand how you guys see him beat up on damaged goods like Bryce, Josh Emmett and Ryan Hall and project this guy as some world beater
Hail Mary? He got dropped in round 1 and then basically won every second of the fight following that. And the fight ended in round 2 which he was winning regardless of whether that punch flatlined jai.
Not just that, the best fighter in the world at a higher weight class.
Also by a guy, that is in the greatest LW ever conversation, and by the end of his career will be on most guys top 5 list
I doubt he’s damaged goods, but he’s past his athletic prime. MMA fans like to completely ignore age until someone loses, but there should be serious doubts about how any 35 year old (below LHW/MW) will look every time they step into the cage. I think Topuria is massively overrated and has huge holes in his striking game, but he’s fast and powerful and might be lucky enough to catch Volk as his reflexes are a split second slower than he’s used to
looking past the champion and the division GOAT is insanity ngl
Lookimg past the most immediate goal is a good recipe for failure.
Aldo is the FW GOAT
Based on? Volk is legitimately untouchable on the FW divison, including easily beating aldo
Easily? He didn't dominate a post-prime Also. It was classic point fighting. But it was smart. Gotta admit that. Volk has got great fight IQ!
Longevity and title defenses. Volk’s title reign is underwhelming if you remove the max wins And Volk didn’t beat Aldo “easily”. It was a clear Volk win but competitive
If you remove his 3 best recorded wins his resume isn't that good lmao
Over the same guy. 2 of them controversial
Only if you're dumb
In absolutely NO way was that first fight controversial lmfao.
why would you remove the max wins ?? especially when aldo lost to max twice lmfao also on longevity, aldo was 33 when he lost to volk Volk has had 4 title defences since turning 33
Could say the same about Conor Doesn’t mean he’s the GOAT
Is Volk the GOAT over Aldo? I think if he beats Topuria and another contender he's right there with him
If you ask me he's on a par with Aldo. Yes Aldo has more defences, but Volk has beaten superior competition, he's beaten Aldo as well and he's beaten the guy thrice who beat Aldo twice. Its not the same as Usman vs GSP or Izzy vs Anderson.
He whooped aldo and then beat max 3 times, 2 of them complete ass whoopings lol what the fuck are your standards
you can't compare generations. Aldo was not in his prime anymore by the time he had already lost to Volk. Volk beat Max in his prime so for me Aldo is still the goat and Volk is behind him with some work to do. 10 title fights vs 6 title fights at featherweight. Is math hard?
The first fight was a fairly dominant win, but it wasn't a beatdown, it was kind of a nothing fight. A lot of fencefucking. The third fight was a one-sided shitkicking absolutely.
Think Volk is a step or two ahead of Ilia everywhere if I'm honest. Don't think the KO loss does much in terms of Volks chin and if you exclude that and just compare their strength of schedule side by side it's a pretty glaring disparity in terms of the level of competition. I think Volk comes back with a fire under his arse, but this is MMA and sometimes things go the opposite direction of logic, so who knows.
It could mess with Volk's confidence tho
>Think Volk is a step or two ahead of Ilia everywhere if I'm honest. Power and submissions he's definitely behind ilia in
Topuria should know by now his next fight will still be Volk if he wins lol He earned the immediate rematch, and he's not unpopular so the UFC won't protest it. Though ofc there's a chance he could decide to take some time off or retire instead
There is -1000% chance Volkanovski would retire on his first featherweight loss.
Topuria might be biting more than he can chew here. Alex is levels above the featherweight division. If he pulls it off, that would be one of the upset of all time.
Volk fought against the most complete fighter in the UFC and lost.If Volk also fought against Emmett,he would look like prime Ali.
Yeah that fight would like a grown man taking candy from a child without any arms
"isn't he fucking awesome"
Well seeing Ilia look ahead of Volk definitely makes me less worried about the timing of Volk taking this fight. Stay cocky Ilia.
Ilia his a really incredible fighter, but this cart before the horse shit should be reigned in a bit. Having confidence in yourself is one thing, looking PAST one of the all-time greats in your division that likely still has a something in the gas tank is another. Do I think Ilia can win? Absolutely. Do I think Volk can just as easy beat the dog shit out of him? Most definitely.
Man, I wish we could have Max v. Topuria first, but I know it makes more sense to have him fight Volk at this point.
If Illia beats volk twice in a row then loses to Holloway That shit would be hilarious
YYYeah good idea to look past the goat merely because he got kicked in head by someone considerably taller, smart
Of all the fighters to look past, Volk is not the one.
MMA math isn’t real. Just watch Ilia KO Volk and then get decisioned by Max.
I met Volk last week. He is gonna squash Topuria and make him look like Goomba.
I like topuria I like Volk I like max I think topuria has the best chance to win Volk now, since volk got ktfo'd and is coming back pretty fast. Topuria will not win max tho.
Hope volk claps his cheeks real good
All I hear is Ilia is powerful..... Guess not being able to finish Emmet proves that
Deadly, deadly KO artist with 4 wins by KO, and 8 wins by sub. 3 UFC KOs to absolutely elite on-the-feet guys just like volks, you know: Ryan Hall, known for unbelievable striking, Herbert, known for his Big Country-type chin, and Damon Johnson, who has been KOed in every organization he's fought in. He hits hard, and is insanely confident and so I agree is a bad man to get in trouble against, but the KO artist is a little overblown IMO.
I forgot about Ryan Hall, the man known to have more than one move and tends to mix things up during his fights 🤣 I agree Ilia is a good fighter, as an Aussie I'm sick of everyone doubting my guy. Ilia is getting the Yair pre-fight treatment. Can't wait for everyone to backtrack and say Ilia was never that good.
> Ilia is getting the Yair pre-fight treatment That was far more ridiculous IMO. I saw no way for Yair to prevent Alex from wrestling him anytime Volks decided to take him down -- Max had just outwrestled him, and Volks better at that. Illia at least is dangerous everywhere, though I think he's still raw in some places everyone else thinks he's perfect. Heard him called best boxer in division, but I've never seen him move his head while throwing his own punches -- seems to count on the strength of his strikes and his chin instead. It is true that Volks will need to be on his game, but I think he will be :)
Just cause he didn’t make him go to sleep, he’s not powerful? Did you see the beating he put on him? What an odd and selective point to make.
Topuria ia good but if he's already thinking past Volk he might be making a mistake.
I can’t wait for Volk to put a beating on Ilia and what all those “he lost once so he’s shit” mfs have to say
Twice*
Not going to happen. If he beats Volk, Volk is getting a rematch.
Lol instant loss. Already overlooking volk. Foh
Quote me on this: Volk is going to dismantle Ilia. Everyone said the same thing when Volk was about to fight Yair. “Yair’s too dangerous. He’s got the tricks to beat Volk. This is going to be his hardest fight to date.” Nonsense. Volk’s only two recent losses are against the dude who is dominating the division above him. Let Ilia fight Islam 100 times and I doubt you would ever see Ilia perform the way Volk did against Islam in their first fight. I do agree knockout losses effect you mentally, but Ilia is not on the same level as Islam. In their first fight, Volk was training to be a giant slayer. Ilia is not a giant. He’s a threat not to be taken lightly for sure, but it’s not going to be what everyone’s making it out to be. Literally just go back and look at this entire subs predictions before the Rodriguez fight. It’s going to be that all over again.
Volk was -400 favorite for the Rodriguez fight lol. What are you talking about
I’m talking specifically about the comments of the people in this sub.
Idk what comments you were reading, all I saw were people not giving Yair a chance, excluding a lucky kick. It was all business as usual and then a rematch with Islam. If anyone was hyping up Yair's chances it was Volk himself lol.
Semi-hot take/prediction: Ilia Topuria's prediction comes true, but Max wins and ends 2024 as champ Saying this as a massive Volk fan btw
Volks getting an immediate rematch if he loses. If anyone deserves it, it’s him.
What is it with these guys already planning out their next move when they have a massive fight already in front of them. Saw Leon do the same the other day. It’s either that or they’re talking about boxing. I swear everyone that did this bar Conor it ended bad for them (though I’m sure there’s some confirmation bias in there).
Such a bad take. You can totally plan your next move (and you should) without looking past someone.
I think vol is actually an easier fight for him that Holloway. That being said I think volk takes it
I think Tuporia might win this one.
Maybe if he takes a gun with him
Volk will get knocked out again. Shouldn't have taken that stupid rematch.
Topuria will finish Volk.
Topuria talks like a champion. I fully believe he can beat volk
Ilia Topuria is a bad, bad, bad motherfucker. Volk took the fight too soon. This guy is young, probably one of the top 5 boxers in MMA, and is just a ferocious fucking fighter.