GDT: UFC 298: Volkanovski vs. Topuria

[I am not exposed]

Watching these fights in person I thought Costa and Neal both got robbed

Not on TV.

The results for both fights were correct imo.

 

[CDJ]

Whittaker is a DAWG

 

[MMC]

Really not interested in the rematch though I’m sure they’ll book it. Just don’t see it playing out any differently

 

[MMC]

 

[hockey20000]

holloway could give topuria a good fight harder then this post islam version of volk imo

 

[N o o d l e s]

My boy Topuria is keeping that belt for a long time

 

[1specter]

Really tough to see Volk lose like that. That short notice fight against Islam was a career altering move, really wish he didn't go for that. He needs some extended time off IMO. The 35+ champ curse is real, except at LHW/HW.

Regardless, that punch from Ilia was perfect and would've KOed anybody probably. Guy is really really scary, he didn't seem to fear Volk at all and kept forward pressure the whole time. He's going to be a big problem for a long time.

 

[bov]

Besides Evloev, they'll basically have to recycle contenders at 145 for the next couple years at least. There don't seem to be any new faces that could challenge for a title anytime soon. Max, Yair, Ortega, Volk rematch...Definitely an opportunity for Topuria to try and wipe out the last "generation" of contenders at 145.

 

[Killahpunk]

How did Whittaker vs. Costa not get FOTN?

 

[pistolpete11]

Watching these fights in person I thought Costa and Neal both got robbed

Costa pretty clearly lost.

I think there's a case for Neal winning R1 and R2, even though that's not how I would have scored it. One of those cases where 30-27 for one guy and 29-28 for the other are both reasonable cards.

 

[pistolpete11]

I don't think taking the Islam fight had any effect on this fight at all. Volk looked to be in great shape, was focused, and was winning the fight until he got caught with a shot that would have put just about anybody out cold. Like I'm not even sure if Max could survive a shot that clean from Topuria.

The fact of the matter is that Volk is 35 years old at 145lbs and maybe even more importantly, Topuria is an absolute hammer in his prime.

Luke Thomas talked about it a lot this week. Fans are often too late to get on board with fighters and then want the ride to continue with that guy even though they already peaked. A lot of people, myself included, were guilty of that with Volk. I never disliked him, but it wasn't until after maybe the Ortega fight or maybe even the 3rd Max fight where it was like "Alright, Volk is the man". But by that time in his career, he doesn't have a whole lot more left at the elite level.

And on the other side, I'm not saying you have to like Topuria. I don't. He could make a turn at some point, but he seems like a douche. You've got to respect him, though, and should appreciate him as a fighter now, while he's in his prime.

 

[MMC]

Hopefully Anaheim (as being the UFC’s presence in LA) gets a big card every year like NYC, Vegas, Abu Dhabi, and now Miami seem to

 

[Byron Bitz]

Pretty sure Volk was really affected by an early calf kick that threw him off for the rest of the fight.

 

[Bunk Moreland]

If Usman and Izzy got immediate rematches after getting their long reigns halted by KO then I don't see the argument against volk getting one.

 

[Mickey Marner]

Based on precedent, there’s no doubt Volk has earned a rematch. But I like the guy and don’t want to see him get flat-lined a third time.

 

[CDJ]

Hernandez coming out to Bocelli when he was expecting Mozzy is hilarious

 

[pistolpete11]

If Usman and Izzy got immediate rematches after getting their long reigns halted by KO then I don't see the argument against volk getting one.

To play devil's advocate, Usman and Izzy got KO'ed in the 5th round in fights they were clearly winning. Volk may have won the first, but it's not quite the same as being a few minutes away from defending.

 

[1specter]

Don't love that Ilia is angling for that Conor fight and is writing off the rest of the FW division. I get his confidence and he certainly backed it up last night but there are some good fights for him still like Evloev, Max, Yair etc. He's young and in his prime, if he wants to cement his legacy then he should capitalize now. Hope he doesn't end up like those champs that fight once a year.

 

[1specter]

I don't think taking the Islam fight had any effect on this fight at all. Volk looked to be in great shape, was focused, and was winning the fight until he got caught with a shot that would have put just about anybody out cold. Like I'm not even sure if Max could survive a shot that clean from Topuria.

It's tough to say, we'll never really know. You're right that was just a great punch and Topuria landing that clean on anyone will probably spark them out, but at the highest of levels and especially at a lighter weight class losing even 1% of your timing or ability to make in-fight reads could be all the difference. Volk looked fast and good still, but he was failing to make some critical adjustments. For example (and the commentary team also called this out), he kept exiting out in a straight line with his hands low and got sloppy trying to defend Topuria's combo, he also failed to check some very hard kicks early on that seemed to hurt his leg as well.

Going through a last minute weight cut while being out of shape (and also by his own account, drinking a lot at the time) and then taking a KO shot on top of that then jumping back into another camp and fight a few months later can take a pretty big toll on the body. It's possible that the version of Volk that fought Max the third time is sharper and doesn't get caught the same way with Ilia.

And regardless of whether it impacted him in this fight itself, now having two big KOs back-to-back in a 4-month span will definitely impact at the very least his chin going forward and potentially accelerate a career decline that otherwise may not have happened as quickly.

Luke Thomas talked about it a lot this week. Fans are often too late to get on board with fighters and then want the ride to continue with that guy even though they already peaked. A lot of people, myself included, were guilty of that with Volk. I never disliked him, but it wasn't until after maybe the Ortega fight or maybe even the 3rd Max fight where it was like "Alright, Volk is the man". But by that time in his career, he doesn't have a whole lot more left at the elite level.

And on the other side, I'm not saying you have to like Topuria. I don't. He could make a turn at some point, but he seems like a douche. You've got to respect him, though, and should appreciate him as a fighter now, while he's in his prime.

Definitely agree, I was the same. Admittedly I was a bitter Max fan who felt like Max got robbed in the second fight, and when he was cleaning out the rest of FW I still believed he'd have a chance to beat Volk. Then Volk just dusted him and make him look like a complete amateur with 50-45 which was soulcrushing to watch lol. Though Volk had won me over already with the Ortega fight when he got out of that choke and then killed him the rest of the way.

 

[1specter]

delete

 

[pistolpete11]

It's tough to say, we'll never really know. You're right that was just a great punch and Topuria landing that clean on anyone will probably spark them out, but at the highest of levels and especially at a lighter weight class losing even 1% of your timing or ability to make in-fight reads could be all the difference. Volk looked fast and good still, but he was failing to make some critical adjustments. For example (and the commentary team also called this out), he kept exiting out in a straight line with his hands low and got sloppy trying to defend Topuria's combo, he also failed to check some very hard kicks early on that seemed to hurt his leg as well.

Going through a last minute weight cut while being out of shape (and also by his own account, drinking a lot at the time) and then taking a KO shot on top of that then jumping back into another camp and fight a few months later can take a pretty big toll on the body. It's possible that the version of Volk that fought Max the third time is sharper and doesn't get caught the same way with Ilia.

And regardless of whether it impacted him in this fight itself, now having two big KOs back-to-back in a 4-month span will definitely impact at the very least his chin going forward and potentially accelerate a career decline that otherwise may not have happened as quickly.

I can't say it had no effect, I guess, but I just don't think that is a deciding factor in the fight.

We can't measure it, but we can compare it to history:

- We've seen guys get KO'ed and then come back and win their next fight.
- We've never seen anybody beat Topuria. Frankly, we haven't even really seen him challenged. He's 15-0 with 13 finishes and 1 of those decisions (Emmett) he absolutely beat the brakes off him (50-42, 50-44, and 49-45).
- We've only seen 1 fighter win a title fight at 170lb or below at age 35+ and it was Woodley who did it against Maia (who's older than him) and Wonderboy (who's the same age).

Definitely agree, I was the same. Admittedly I was a bitter Max fan who felt like Max got robbed in the second fight, and when he was cleaning out the rest of FW I still believed he'd have a chance to beat Volk. Then Volk just dusted him and make him look like a complete amateur with 50-45 which was soulcrushing to watch lol. Though Volk had won me over already with the Ortega fight when he got out of that choke and then killed him the rest of the way.

Yeah, beating Max, especially controversially in the second fight, was a big factor for me, too. I imagine a lot of people since Max is such a fan favorite.

 

[CDJ]

Herbert was kinda lighting Topuria up a bit but then Topuria hit the detonate button and it all became irrelevant

25 min is just too long of a period of time to last against him without making a mistake, he’ll slump you if given that time to do so. I think Yair may have the best chance of giving him a tough time.

 

[1specter]

Herbert was kinda lighting Topuria up a bit but then Topuria hit the detonate button and it all became irrelevant

25 min is just too long of a period of time to last against him without making a mistake, he’ll slump you if given that time to do so. I think Yair may have the best chance of giving him a tough time.

If Max's chin can hold up I could see the volume and pace being an issue. Some interesting matchups despite Ilia's claims of the division being stale

 

[16Skippy]

I've been on the Topuria hype train for a while but it was still rough seeing Volk get hammered like that, and then hearing Rogan saying and he's still out after (seeing him with Zuckerberg was worse though lol). I don't know if it's an age thing or a Makhachev thing, but I'm leaning towards Topuria is just that good. The crazy part is that boxing is supposed to be his B game, he came up as a grappler.

As a purist I think him calling out McGregor is lame, but being practical and knowing how damaging this sport can be and how little they get paid I can't fault him for attempting to get a giant paycheque.

 

[Taytro]

I don't think taking the Islam fight had any effect on this fight at all. Volk looked to be in great shape, was focused, and was winning the fight until he got caught with a shot that would have put just about anybody out cold. Like I'm not even sure if Max could survive a shot that clean from Topuria.

The fact of the matter is that Volk is 35 years old at 145lbs and maybe even more importantly, Topuria is an absolute hammer in his prime.

Luke Thomas talked about it a lot this week. Fans are often too late to get on board with fighters and then want the ride to continue with that guy even though they already peaked. A lot of people, myself included, were guilty of that with Volk. I never disliked him, but it wasn't until after maybe the Ortega fight or maybe even the 3rd Max fight where it was like "Alright, Volk is the man". But by that time in his career, he doesn't have a whole lot more left at the elite level.

And on the other side, I'm not saying you have to like Topuria. I don't. He could make a turn at some point, but he seems like a douche. You've got to respect him, though, and should appreciate him as a fighter now, while he's in his prime.

The nature of concussions/being knocked unconscious says otherwise. Kudos to Topuria for a great performance and he earned his win. That punch might have knocked Volk out regards of his previous head trauma incidents we don't know. What we do know is that being knocked unconscious 4 months ago will impact the likelyhood to get knocked out again in the near future, and also aging impacts your ability to withstand head trauma. It might not have mattered here but Volks chin/ability to take a head strike was almost certainly at a career low during this fight, partially due to his fight vs Islam.