Max is a tougher matchup for Ilia

[big franklin]

nobody is losing sleep over Max lol

I am.

 

[NationWideNinja]

I cant be the only be who doesn’t like the Topuria match-up for Max right?

I’m not saying he cant win it, but Topuria is definitely testing that chin if they fight, and I’m not sure Max takes those bombs

 

[big franklin]

He defended his title 5X
He showed up with 11 days notice for 294 helping save a card that was falling apart (bonus points with UFC execs)
2 of the 3 losses were OUTSIDE of his weight class and one on short notice
13-1 in his weight class in the UFC

Unfortunately it does not work like that.

If I'm caught doing 120 in a 55 zone and the cops pull me over...

"Officer, yes I was speeding but I've always obeyed the speed limits in all my years of driving."

The officer will tell me that my past good behaviour does not excuse my present bad behaviour.

I will be fined and my car will be impounded.

 

[ElLunico]

The one guy that actually is a stylistic nightmare for Topuria despite being one dimensional as fuck is Yair.

I still pick Ilia if they ever fight but if there's a fight that Ilia would be glad to not have to do its Yair.

I don't see anyone else coming close to beating Ilia in that weight class.

 

[Arm Barbarian]

I didn't rejoice, but I like both Max and Volk.

I don't care for Ilia as a fan, but who knows, he may grow on me at some point.

He's a solid fighter, but a major douche, so if he gets KOed stiff at some point it will bring the lulz.

For now, he deserves the shine.

 

[Fight Professor]

Max should skip the Justin fight now to avoid what has happened to Volk.

Now is his best chance to beat Ilia assuming Volk takes time off.

 

[Koro_11]

Nah, I like Max but he's had enough title shots at FW, and I think he gets starched anyway.

 

[Gilday]

After Max gets scooped up from the canvas at 300 I'm not sure you'll want him to fight Ilia..

 

[phenomphan2]

Max is boxing heavy like Topuria. Won’t have to deal with Volk’s kicks.

 

[StewDogg11]

Go watch fight again

You go watch fight again and maybe brush up on your English while you’re at it.

 

[Rorschachxx]

You're going to assume that volk is not getting a rematch? Lmao

we should know better by now, it's like NBA street, you gotta win by 2

Volks next fight might be the rematch. But that doesn't mean Ilias next fight will be Volk again.

I feel like Volk being KO'd twice in short time should put him out of the mix for some time. That said, Max is preparing for a vicious fight in April so timing wise he might be out just as long as Volk, if not longer.

These fools might actually have no choice put to throw Evloev in there lol.

 

[Rapa]

You go watch fight again and maybe brush up on your English while you’re at it.

English is not my native language and i dont care if u dont like it (ყლე არავის გადაუღუნო)
U are butt hurt bcs ilia just knocked fuck out of ur fav fighter. stay mad

 

[Cinerary]

Dude... do you realize how ridiculous you sound.. Max has fought everyone and has never even been staggered.. you are wrong actually .. He started in jits at the age of 4.. started wrestling after that..

Max was rocked badly by Pourier. He should not fight Gaejthe. Stylistically he may be more successful against Topuria, but he takes a lot of shots, which may not work out.

 

[LincolnHawk1]

Dude ilia is my childhood friend and please shut up ilia started greco roman wrestling first then jitsu at 15 years old ilia is high level grappler/wrestler who can box if he need he will wrestlefuck anyone in division

While I agree ilia could grapple fuck max, in a straight up boxing match only I think max would win. Because of max output and ability to cut angles like he does he would ilia often and go body head body and essentially wear him out. I’m not sure ilia would have the gas tank to go with max. Kattar was getting tons of praise for his boxing and for most part his fight with max was mostly boxing and max lit him up like a Christmas tree the whole time.

 

[Substance Abuse]

Prime Max had the tools to drown Ilia. Max is no longer in his prime. It would be a close fight. Max's kick boxing is underrated around here and if he used his leg and body kicks at range, and worked Ilia to the body, he could definitely take the fight in the later rounds as Ilia has shown to have a tank that fades as the fight progresses. Max also had the TDD and cage awareness to avoid being stalled by the grappling for significant parts of the fight, so it'll eventually make it back to the feet.

The real question is if Max can leverage his frame and dictate distance despite the equal reach to keep Ilia's pressure at bay when he begins to work his way in to throw on the inside and if Max can stay off the cage. Then you also have to factor in whether or not Max's chin will be compromised even further going up and having a war with Gaethje, then cutting back down to Featherweight to take this fight. I would slightly favor Ilia simply for the speed advantage and the power, but if Max's chin can absorb some shots early, I think he could pick apart Ilia like he did Allen and then pour it on inside late. 60/40 Topuria.

In the meantime is Ilia going to turn away all contenders and cherry pick like he's been stating in the media? By the time this fight could feasibly take place so much could change.

 

[Fact Checker]

Max vs Topuria would probably look very similar to his fight with Poirier… Max essentially blocking shots with his face for 5 rounds.

Topuria is too fast for him.

 

[kalabula]

Max has short arms. Volk had a large reach advantage over both him and ilia. I quick google search showed max and Ilia having identical reaches of 69”

 

[mkt]

Max's reach: 175 cm
Ilia's reach: 175 cm
For those of you that have problems with the metric system, it means they have the same reach.

Pro tip: you don't need to understand the metric system to compare reach in that case, as long as you can do the most basic math.

 

[mkt]

Doesn’t matter what he started with, Aldo beat Cobrinha in BJJ twice, never really looked good at BJJ in MMA (at a UFC level).

If he tried to wrestle max he would gas out like he did against Yousuff Zalal, holding on for a 2-1 victory.

I do believe he can beat Max with boxing and I think he’d crack his chin.

Aldo also had deadly leg kicks in the WEC (e.g., the Faber fight). While he used them some in the UFC, he didn't wreck people with them the way Gaethje, Poatan and others do. He basically became a pointfighting antiwrestler-kickboxer when he came to the UFC. I'm not knocking him--it worked. But the alleged super-high level BJJ game and gruesome leg kicks didn't really materialize in his reign as UFC champ.

 

[Morning Star]

Max is going to get battered, how people are still sleeping on Topuria after last night is beyond me.