Can Volk hang with the best LWs?

Gracious Warrior

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Volk said at the conference that he wants to stay busy and would seriously consider moving to 155 to do so for his next fight.

How would he match up with the best guys there?
Poirier, Oliveira, Gaetjhe, Chandler etc.
 
I dunno man,but thats a ballsy move. He has the skillset to do it.
 
Gaetjhe and Volk are arguably the same size btw despite one of them fighting at a higher weight class.

I dunno if Volk can get past Poirier though.
 
I think Poirier and Geathje beat him, he takes Chandler and Oliveira
 
He is a big 145er who used to be 200+ so weight is not an issue for him
Will need adjusting though
rugby is pretty cardio intensive, compared to american football, if he could handle a rubgy match at 200+ he should be fine
 
The top 4 would be tough for Volk tbh, since they would hit a lot harder than the FWs Volk is used too and we've seen how volkanovski has been dropped by Holloway, Ortega and Mendes, so probs wouldn't be good matchups.
 
Definitely, without much of an issue imo. The gap between those two weight classes is perhaps the least emphatic of them all, and he is such a strong & powerful guy @145. He'd be even more dangerous & powerful with 10 more lbs tacked on
 
Not sure about top guys, with more or less equal skillset, size comes in as a factor, also power advantage, see Max vs Dustin for example
 
I think he beats RDA, Ferguson, Chandler, Dairush, McGregor, Hooker.

He would have tough fights but I actually think his style would favour him very slightly against Islam and Oliveira, though could go either way. 50/50 against Gaejthe. DP is the only one I wouldn't give him at least 50% chance against, I think that fight doesn't suit him stylistically.
 
Absolutely not. Dustin beat Holloway on size alone and nothing else and Max has one of the greatest chins we've seen in the sport. Volk's chin is kinda mediocre, although he has great recovery and a lot of heart. He'll get knocked out at LW, especially by the heavy hitters. And while being at huge height and reach disadvantage, he won't be able to pitter-patter his way into a decision.

There are weight classes for a reason. And for me personally a fighter does not have to move up a class to prove his/her worth.
 
The top 4 would be tough for Volk tbh, since they would hit a lot harder than the FWs Volk is used too and we've seen how volkanovski has been dropped by Holloway, Ortega and Mendes, so probs wouldn't be good matchups.

Ortega never dropped, rd1 he was off balance leaning back and was basically pushed over by a weak jab
 
Yes. LW is the most overrated division atm and Volk has the skills to beat Oliveira & Dustin (who are former FWs themselves). As we all know he used to fight at WW and MW.

My only concern is his chin, as he has been dropped multiple times now. He has good recovery but I’m not sure if it’ll be enough at LW.
 
Dustin and Gaethje would bang him out his frame and stop him within 3. He could hang with the rest , but those two in particular are out of his reach.
 
I think he beats RDA, Ferguson, Chandler, Dairush, McGregor, Hooker.

He would have tough fights but I actually think his style would favour him very slightly against Islam and Oliveira, though could go either way. 50/50 against Gaejthe. DP is the only one I wouldn't give him at least 50% chance against, I think that fight doesn't suit him stylistically.

I think he matches up well with Dustin. Dustin isn't exactly known for having good TDD, and Dustin has historically been very open to leg kicks. A guy that struggles with TDD and leg kicks is going to struggle with Volk.
 
Didn't he get dropped by Ortega and a little fuzzy in round 5?

Don't see his chin holding up against Chandler, Poirier or Justin.
 
i think he would get ko'd by both Dustin/Justin but i also think if he can get them down he smother them with intense gnp.

With that said...Volk with that relentless intense pace and gritty style is definitely champ material.
 
rugby is pretty cardio intensive, compared to american football, if he could handle a rubgy match at 200+ he should be fine
And it was rugby league, which is different from rugby union which US audiences are more familiar with- league has less players and slightly different rules and is MUCH more demanding on cardio than rugby union.

He might be crazy enough to attempt the jump- he's said he'd happily go there for a money fight like Conor and all those other names mentioned would now be huge fights as well, with the buzz coming from this fight raising Volks profile too.

The danger would be the harder hitters putting his lights out instead of just knocking him down. But he has tremendous versatility, great fight IQ and can relentlessly execute a plan so I wouldn't count him out entirely. He finds a way to win.
 
Absolutely not. Dustin beat Holloway on size alone and nothing else and Max has one of the greatest chins we've seen in the sport. Volk's chin is kinda mediocre, although he has great recovery and a lot of heart. He'll get knocked out at LW, especially by the heavy hitters. And while being at huge height and reach disadvantage, he won't be able to pitter-patter his way into a decision.

There are weight classes for a reason. And for me personally a fighter does not have to move up a class to prove his/her worth.
Volks reach is 71 inches - basically the same with Poirier, Gathje or Chandler.
 
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