Volk made the worst decision in the history of the sport.

[SSgt Dickweed]

Taking Islam on short notice was a bad bad idea by volk and the ufc
Just destroyed him
Lead to his downfall from grace

This, I hope he got paid 5 million USD by the Saudi's for that nonsense.

 

[Nous]

I think he will have one more and decide from there. It's sad because I enjoyed watching him fight because he fought differently vs each person he fought. That high kick and body kick game he showed vs Ilia was beautiful to watch. He clearly added to his game, but the Islam fight definitely came into effect with how he went out.

I think he could come out and have a Whittaker like career were he basically beats 8/10 guys still and it's probably worth it considering what he gets paid, but Volk seems like the kinda guy that would struggle with not being the champ. I am hoping he takes 6 months+ and assesses where to go from here.

I kinda hope he comes back and kinda GSPs it up and starts to really mix things up in his fights to avoid these type of losses. He still appears to be more skilled fighter, he is just losing these big exchanges that he used to win. Big ask at 35, but my god we are going to miss him when he goes. Ilia hasn't been the most active coming up, Ortega and Yair aren't either and Max is probably about to finally be cracked vs Gaethje. I think we are about to see an era of diva champions unfortunately. Only person staying super active is Pereira.

It would be interesting to match Volk vs Ilia one more time, and try to implement a super heavy grappling approach if, and only if, Volk rests for 6months before.

 

[Gamer007]

Most people don't realize that it isn't just the four months time frame between the KO, the fight was announced in November so that means he was already either training or revving up for a camp. He never had even two months to really recover, because he was already in camp sparring and taking blows to his head in January at the latest. (via his YouTube channel)


Putting your body through that training, weight cut, sparring, while not getting two months to recuperate is crazy. A lot of times when fighters are very successful, nobody wants to step up and offer their opinion, you always need someone who will protect you from yourself.


That was the first time he'd been KO'd on the world stage; he was probably dealing with a ton of issues behind the scenes and figured he'd go in there and get a W like he had so many times before. GSP is a good example of a fighter who got his butt kicked a couple times and started dialing in on better decision making and preparation, but he had the fortune of losing when he was young. When you go basically your whole career without losing, your decision making, and preparation start to fall off.

When you're a champion you have to take the necessary steps to be at your best, because once you lose your title you aren't making any real money. Assuming Volk is on a $1 per PPV deal, he lost roughly 30-40% of his damn pay. You don't want that stuff on your conscious, because the doubt regarding his recovery period is going to be on his mind for a long while.

 

[Quietus]

Volk was depressed and day-drinking after the Islam KO and admitted he only the 2nd Islam fight cause he was going stir crazy without a fight to look forward to. Sorry to say he's probably going to have a Woodley/Ferguson type of downfall now where he can't let go of the sport and the drive to compete, keeps trying to get back on the winning track and never does. Volk will retire after another 3-4 losses (probably a win mixed in there which will give him false hope that he's still got it) and tarnish his legacy.

 

[TempleoftheDog]

Okay, I see what you are getting at, but hear me out: Henry's decision to retire was actually a good one. Because Henry would have lost to Yan if they fought, and having a loss in his prime would have looked worse than losing two fights coming back now.

What about the million$ he left on the table? Ppv points, champion pay, endorsement opportunities from being a two division champion, and Oly champ.

He lost millions of dollars. And all of his negotiation leverage. The WORST possible decision he could have made.

 

[Cpt Migraine]

Wonderboy vs pettis..

 

[barillas]

In hindsight it may look like that but what if had he won?

 

[OleBuffalo]

The guy reeeeeally believes in himself & that can be a double-edged sword. The self-belief that got him to the top also got him booted in the head. He bet on himself and lost, and he’d prob do it again just like people who almost die climbing mountains keep climbing mountains. Volk cared about wanting to see the view from as high up as possible more than he cares about how his failures are perceived. Madness kinda comes w the territory

 

[scoobster]

just face facts, he's done, washed up, another T Ferg, BJ incoming!

 

[Nous]

Most people don't realize that it isn't just the four months time frame between the KO, the fight was announced in November so that means he was already either training or revving up for a camp. He never had even two months to really recover, because he was already in camp sparring and taking blows to his head in January at the latest. (via his YouTube channel)


Putting your body through that training, weight cut, sparring, while not getting two months to recuperate is crazy. A lot of times when fighters are very successful, nobody wants to step up and offer their opinion, you always need someone who will protect you from yourself.


That was the first time he'd been KO'd on the world stage; he was probably dealing with a ton of issues behind the scenes and figured he'd go in there and get a W like he had so many times before. GSP is a good example of a fighter who got his butt kicked a couple times and started dialing in on better decision making and preparation, but he had the fortune of losing when he was young. When you go basically your whole career without losing, your decision making, and preparation start to fall off.

When you're a champion you have to take the necessary steps to be at your best, because once you lose your title you aren't making any real money. Assuming Volk is on a $1 per PPV deal, he lost roughly 30-40% of his damn pay. You don't want that stuff on your conscious, because the doubt regarding his recovery period is going to be on his mind for a long while.

You make a very good point with regards to the fact that he was already in camp super quickly after the KO: I had not fully recognized that fact.