Full camp Volk would have done better

Islam has gotten a bad rap (like Khabib) of being just a wrestler with bad striking. In fact, I think Islam's striking looked great when he took the title from Charles and he did well in the first fight with Volk as well.
I don't know if it was his gameplan or not because the fight didnt last long enough but it looked to me like he was trying to prove a point with his striking against Volk

He’s been guilty of having kind of awkward looking striking like Khabib. But it’s pretty clear he’s actually pretty technical, definitely more than Khabib. In this fight, it seemed they knew he had success with left kicks in the first fight and built their gameplan around it. He was looking to set up the head kick from the get go and damn near got him with it like a minute prior. It was definitely a planned and executed finish.
 
He’s been guilty of having kind of awkward looking striking like Khabib. But it’s pretty clear he’s actually pretty technical, definitely more than Khabib. In this fight, it seemed they knew he had success with left kicks in the first fight and built their gameplan around it. He was looking to set up the head kick from the get go and damn near got him with it like a minute prior. It was definitely a planned and executed finish.

Khabib's striking really I think was more part way between GSP and Arona, everything was geared to setting up the takedown or depending on the threat of the takedown were as Islam does tend to look to engage in more conventional striking matches, sometimes looks a bit patchy but he does clearly have a good deal of threat, finished two P4P level champs in his last 3 matches.

I did think in this match Islam had a lot more room to bring something a bit different to Volk, the latter is very technically sound but not really prone to pulling off the unexpected.
 
Except we have the first fight as evidence of that. Even Volk now admits he wasn't training like he should have been and it was hubris and "needing to fight" that made him take this one on short notice.

They have training camps for a reason. Islam was on point and sharp as hell. Volk was not. Given the size difference, Volk needed things to be perfect just to keep it close.

A lot of us would have preferred seeing Gamrot fight Islam for this very reason. The UFC had him as backup and simply didnt think he was a big enough name to sell.
That's a bit of a cop out , to take a fight and then claim lack of prep when you get ktfo.

Islam was not 100 percent in the first fight and possibly underestimated Volk, still won btw .
 
Maybe, but Islam took him out quickly. Showed a great ability to adapt on short notice.
 
Maybe, but Islam took him out quickly. Showed a great ability to adapt on short notice.

Islam is amazing, and by far away the best LW right now, not questioning that
 
As a dude who was pulling for volk, I can say I don’t think he beats Islam even with a full camp. Islam is just the better fighter. And his size would always be an issue for volk.
I do think volk can beat a lot of the top 10 guys at lw,but not all of them. For example I think gaethje would create all kinds of issues for volk.
 
no shit sherlock. full camp anyone is better than the contrary
 
Would a full camp have made his arm any longer? Because he had his hand up and tight to his head, completely ready to block the kick. It just went above his hand.
 
This fight was a huge mistake because now all the jabronis have an excuse to push for a 3rd fucking fight when the 1st one should have never happened to begin with. If Volk wants that fight he should move up to 155 permanently. The fact that 2 of Islam's title defenses are against a featherweight is absurd. Champ v champ fights are cancerous
 
This fight was a huge mistake because now all the jabronis have an excuse to push for a 3rd fucking fight when the 1st one should have never happened to begin with. If Volk wants that fight he should move up to 155 permanently. The fact that 2 of Islam's title defenses are against a featherweight is absurd. Champ v champ fights are cancerous

I would bet good money a 3rd fight never happens.
 
Bro… if you can’t tell I’m being sarcastic.

Sorry, was that an Eddie Bravo reference? I can't tell who is joking as just the other day, there was a thread where the IV thing was being dredged up and seriously debated.
 
  • Like
Reactions: Kb7
That's a bit of a cop out , to take a fight and then claim lack of prep when you get ktfo.

Islam was not 100 percent in the first fight and possibly underestimated Volk, still won btw .
Or maybe Islam's kick knocked some sense into Volk's head and gave him some perspective? I didn't think he was making excuses as much as he was coming to a realization. That is that he might not have been very smart to think he could perform at the level he needed to beat Islam without a proper camp. Even with a camp I think Islam beats him again anyway. It's why I wasn't thrilled with the fight to begin with. The UFC had Gamrot as a backup and should have used him.
 
volk gambled and lost
his fault to risk it off the couch
he did ok in the clinch (because he knew from the first fight) but lacked completely focus otherwise and hesitated in striking range that lead to the ko
 
Two weeks' notice is pretty short. There is no way you would be anywhere near ready. He actually SHOULDN'T have taken it. Not really a reason to put yourself at that much of a disadvantage. Everyone knew he wouldn't win without being 100% against Islam; unless he was hoping for a hail Mary KO win.

The only people who really benefit from that situation are the nuthuggers of the winner that are deeply invested in seeing him win. For everyone else, you got a weak ass fight with a guy that was totally and noticably unprepared. Glad I didn't pay for tickets or the PPV.
 
I would bet good money a 3rd fight never happens.
Volk would need to run the table of some top LW's to get another crack I think and he's too old to do that now. Unless he retires like Khabib did, Islam would probably move up to WW by then.
 
Two weeks' notice is pretty short. There is no way you would be anywhere near ready. He actually SHOULDN'T have taken it. Not really a reason to put yourself at that much of a disadvantage. Everyone knew he wouldn't win without being 100% against Islam; unless he was hoping for a hail Mary KO win.

The only people who really benefit from that situation are the nuthuggers of the winner that are deeply invested in seeing him win. For everyone else, you got a weak ass fight with a guy that was totally and noticably unprepared. Glad I didn't pay for tickets or the PPV.
he should have been talked out of the idea especially after the surgery that short before and no camp
dunno who his advisors are or if he listened to anyone but they didnt do him a favor
 
Don't get me wrong: I from the started said that if Islam finishes Volk early he should get massive credit. And wrote a thread cementing that position in the ongoing storm of people trying to discredit Islam
https://forums.sherdog.com/threads/islam-should-get-massive-credit.4311564/

However, the view that Islam should get massive credit is compatible with the view that Full camp Volk would have done better, and they are, indeed, both also true. Here is the analysis of why full camp Volk would have done better:

Volk is not an "intuitive fighter", but rather a "cerebral fighter". You can see Volk in there thinking when he is fighting. Moreover, for the parts of his game where in the cage there is no time to think, he has drilled in good habits and that is what carries him through rather then his good intuitions. This should not only be obvious to anyone who watches Volk, but has also been confirmed by Volk.

One problem for Volk is that he has bad instincts for blocking body and head kicks, this was noted by many clever people before his fight with Yair, and was why the fight was thought to pose such a challenge for Volk. Yet Volk came out with a significantly more solid kicking defence. Volk had managed to drill in good kicking defence during his camp with Yair.

However, on short camp Volk didn't have the time to drill in the same kicking defence. He likely focused these 12 days on drilling some wrestling and getting in shape. This meant that he again operated with his bad instincts for blocking kicks. The upshot here, then, is that in a full camp Volk would likely have drilled in good habits for blocking body and headlocks, and thus he would have preformed better.

Note two things: First, some might say "Volk wouldn't have drilled kicking defence against Islam anyway." But this is mistaken. We know Volk is a high iq fighter, and he would have known that part of Islams game he struggled with in the first fight was the kicking game, and that Islam would likely try to further exploit that. Hence, he would undoubtably have drilled that.

Second, some might say "Volk's habits from the Yair fight should have carried over." But this is false. Because everyone has bad instincts in certain areas of fighting, and it very hard to train away them permanently. Rather what happens is that in a camp you can focus on those areas and secure a good habit for that particular fight. This is even for fighter like Volk who are more cerebral than intuitive.
He got clocked

camp wouldn’t change his head getting kicked in
 
  • Like
Reactions: Kb7
he should have been talked out of the idea especially after the surgery that short before and no camp
dunno who his advisors are or if he listened to anyone but they didnt do him a favor
Yep, hope he wasn't just listening to shills and groupies
 
Back
Top