MMA-UFC UFC 284 - Makhachev v Volkanovski

I cant stand DC but i dont give Volk much chance here tbh. If he had more punch power, maybe. Islam will soon walk through shots and manhandle him... hope im wrong though!
He is definitely going up against the odds, but to say if he wins it would be the greatest upset of all time is a joke

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What do you think?
How many rounds will Volkanovski last,
More than Oliveiras 2nd round ?

I think he will make it into the 3rd before Islam submits Volka


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I will be amazed if he gets to the 2nd round
 
Jul 24, 2009
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The underselling of Volk in this thread is pretty incredible. Islam's best win by a mile is against Oliveira with his next best arguably being Hooker who he is a terrible match up for. No doubt he's a terrific fighter, but Volk is easily the best guy he will have fought and has experience of fighting above the lightweight limit so I don't think the size advantage will play in to it too much.

In saying that, I still think Islam wins, but in a very competitive fight. Alex showed against Ortega he can survive some terrible spots in the ground and he owns this fight if it stays on the feet I think. I feel like he'll spend too much time defending takedowns and on his back to get the win, but do expect him to more than hold his own and take it to the cards.
 
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Personally, I expect it to be pretty competitive early FWIW.
Volk will do well to fight off a few TD attempts early on, but my overall feeling is that he will fade, while Islam will eventually become too much for him with his relentless takedown shots and re-shoots. It'll be the 4th, 5th & 6th shoots for the hips, against the cage that'll stop Volk getting that hip separation and gradually be his undoing, IMO.

Islam's fight with Arman Tsarukyan will be a similar picture to it I think, but I think the attrition of relentless clinchwork and takedown defending will eventually take it's toll. Volk will by no means embarrass himself though (gawd I hope I don't regret saying that).
 
I will be amazed if he gets to the 2nd round
Amazed?

* anyone would think Volk hadn't wiped the floor with some top level guys

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RobbyRoy

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In saying that, I still think Islam wins, but in a very competitive fight. Alex showed against Ortega he can survive some terrible spots in the ground and he owns this fight if it stays on the feet I think. I feel like he'll spend too much time defending takedowns and on his back to get the win, but do expect him to more than hold his own and take it to the cards.
I certainly agree with your sentiments, but if Islam puts Volk in anything like the positions Ortega did, it's over. Islam is leaps and bounds above Ortega in terms of strength, not to mention Sambo > BJJ (come at me).

But again, anyone doubting Volk at this point is insane.
 
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I certainly agree with your sentiments, but if Islam puts Volk in anything like the positions Ortega did, it's over. Islam is leaps and bounds above Ortega in terms of strength, not to mention Sambo > BJJ (come at me).

But again, anyone doubting Volk at this point is insane.

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But yeah.. it's hard to argue with that tbh, at least from an MMA perspective.
 
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I certainly agree with your sentiments, but if Islam puts Volk in anything like the positions Ortega did, it's over. Islam is leaps and bounds above Ortega in terms of strength, not to mention Sambo > BJJ (come at me).

But again, anyone doubting Volk at this point is insane.

On the whole, I'm not opposed to the Sambo>BJJ argument. The results certainly seem to be in their favour.

Ortega's overall ground game certainly pales in comparison to a guy like Islam, but he's a choke specialist known for his guillotine and triangle. Surviving with Ortega in his specialist area was super impressive, that was what I was getting at more than implying because he escaped a choke Islam can't submit him.
 

burge13

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I dont think Volk has the power to put Islam off anything he wants to do. Thats my main issue here

Skill for skill im not writing Volk off from keeping it standing a while but eventually Islam will know he can walk through the shots and size will play a factor. There's weight classes for a reason and all that

Heart = Volk, head = Islam. Though id say 99% of the sub would agree with this
 
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I certainly agree with your sentiments, but if Islam puts Volk in anything like the positions Ortega did, it's over. Islam is leaps and bounds above Ortega in terms of strength, not to mention Sambo > BJJ (come at me).

But again, anyone doubting Volk at this point is insane.
Islam's strength is the difference, but he wouldn't be able to get that trip to mounted guillotine to in half a second like Ortega did.

It would be slower and gradual focusing on controlling dominant top position first.

If he got Volk in that same choke he likely finishes due to the strength difference, but Ortegas fluidity and quickness in locking that in isn't quite in Islam's skill set from what we've seen (Olivera was absolutely rocked from the knockdown which obviously changes things compared to from a takedown)

I can see him getting something like a Kimura as Volk scrambles to get up
 

RobbyRoy

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Islam's strength is the difference, but he wouldn't be able to get that trip to mounted guillotine to in half a second like Ortega did.

It would be slower and gradual focusing on controlling dominant top position first.

If he got Volk in that same choke he likely finishes due to the strength difference, but Ortegas fluidity and quickness in locking that in isn't quite in Islam's skill set from what we've seen (Olivera was absolutely rocked from the knockdown which obviously changes things compared to from a takedown)

I can see him getting something like a Kimura as Volk scrambles to get up
Spot on, good analysis. I definitely don't think Islam can get Volk in those positions in the same fashion as Ortega, just that if he did work his way there, it's over.

Having been his advantage for a while now, the 5 rounds may be Alex's underdoing this time. I think most of us are struggling to see how Islam doesn't gradually impose his size and grappling on Volk over the course of 25 minutes. It won't just be surviving submissions for 25, it'll be keeping it on the feet as much as possible and scoring points to win the decision. As I've said, I think Islam eventually locks something in, but even if he doesn't, I can't see how he doesn't relentlessly take Volk down and grind him out.
 
I give Alex about the same chance Charles had…..not much.

The calf kicks and feints aren’t gonna work like they did against Max Holloway. After the first kick Islam will have already gotten a hold of Alex and that’ll be it.

Keep the fight for as long as you can in the centre of the cage or attack from the start aggressively.

I hate being this pessimistic with an Aussie fighter on the big stage but Islam is so dominate it’s gonna take a mistake or luck for Alex to get his hand raised.
 

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“But for him to get on the microphone straight after their fight and call for another fight in his own territory, but be willing to fly a very long distance, they don’t usually take those kind of risks. They’re kind of U.S., or close to home. .. I tip my hat to Makhachev, because he’s in for one hell of a fight. Volk’s a very difficult man to hold down and even harder to keep there. Yeah, he’s in for a tough night.” - dan hooker

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Amazed?

* anyone would think Volk hadn't wiped the floor with some top level guys

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For sure, but if a guy as strong as Makhachev catches him in any of the positions Ortega did - it's over. Imo it's over as soon as the first takedown is landed. I love Volk, but I think this could be a quick win for Islam.
 
I give Alex about the same chance Charles had…..not much.

The calf kicks and feints aren’t gonna work like they did against Max Holloway. After the first kick Islam will have already gotten a hold of Alex and that’ll be it.

Keep the fight for as long as you can in the centre of the cage or attack from the start aggressively.

I hate being this pessimistic with an Aussie fighter on the big stage but Islam is so dominate it’s gonna take a mistake or luck for Alex to get his hand raised.
Truly the only way I see him winning is a KO, and it's not like Volk is a KO artist.
 
Volk will also be a beast at 155. He will be cutting weight, he's not going in as a 145er.

It's not like Volk is a big featherweight. Islam just submitted a genuine 155 pounder who is a BJJ black belt with ease.
 

RobbyRoy

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Oliveira is obviously a bigger man than Volk, but it's a bit of nothing argument regardless. Volk is a powerful, well-built dude and will come into the fight somewhere near Islam's weight. The fact that he won't be cutting as much weight as Islam could be an advantage, albeit a very small one.

Volk is likely overpowered by Islam, but that will be because of who Islam is, not because Volk is too small, not powerful enough etc.
 
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I don't know heaps about wrestling but I wonder if Volk's reach may give him more of an advantage than you might think in the grappling, as in avoiding the clinch? Sort of like what Izzy does, he does have a sprawl but a lot of his TDD to me is avoiding the initial clinch.

I never thought about reach helping in wrestling but Izzy springs to mind and even Gustaffson, I couldnt' figure out how he got Jones down in their fight, maybe his reach helped?

Dunno if the above is complete bullshit or not, just throwing it out there.
 

RobbyRoy

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I don't know heaps about wrestling but I wonder if Volk's reach may give him more of an advantage than you might think in the grappling, as in avoiding the clinch? Sort of like what Izzy does, he does have a sprawl but a lot of his TDD to me is avoiding the initial clinch.

I never thought about reach helping in wrestling but Izzy springs to mind and even Gustaffson, I couldnt' figure out how he got Jones down in their fight, maybe his reach helped?

Dunno if the above is complete bullshit or not, just throwing it out there.
It helps to some extent, in defensive wrestling and MMA wrestling for sure. I think what's more important for Volk is speed, reaction time and IQ. He and his team do their homework and tend to know the cues, then he has the reaction time and speed to get out of dangerous positions.
 

mouncey2franklin

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I'm hoping for and predicting a controversial home-town judges decision in favour of the Volk.

Sets up a rematch later in the year either in Arabia or the USA (which is only fair to Makhachev).

I was there at Suncorp when Jeff Horn was gifted a home-town judges call against Manny, good times 👍
 
I'm hoping for and predicting a controversial home-town judges decision in favour of the Volk.

Sets up a rematch later in the year either in Arabia or the USA (which is only fair to Makhachev).

I was there at Suncorp when Jeff Horn was gifted a home-town judges call against Manny, good times 👍
Probably the one thing that most people will agree on is that the fight won’t go the 5 rounds.

And even if it did with Alex’s hand raised……there’s only one guy’s name he’ll be mentioning afterwards.
 
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