On par with Tony Ferguson doing a weight cut for an imaginary fight, and proudly boasting about it, going straight into training camp, doing another weight cut, and getting pulverized by Gaetje. He was never the same.Guy is obviously at a crossroads, and truth be told, the likelihood is his career is gonna go only one way from here……..that said, if he wants it, he probably deserves a shot to regain his title at 145.
Taking that 2nd Islam fight on 2 weeks notice then the Ilia fight 3 months later must go down as the biggest career suicide decision in recent MMA history.
On par with Tony Ferguson doing a weight cut for an imaginary fight, and proudly boasting about it, going straight into training camp, doing another weight cut, and getting pulverized by Gaetje. He was never the same.
The mental toll of getting destroyed like that is as big as the physical damage. It's one thing to justify getting KO'ed by a mistake, but being beat up to a pulp for 20+ minutes, would entirely diminish the confidence of anyone.
Both Volk and Tony became victims of their fame, they thought they could get away with anything. I don't blame either, but the people around them. No one should have allowed Volk, straight out of the couch, fighting one of the best fighters in the world, on 10 days notice. If you must, by blunt, tell him he would get destroyed, he would derail his career, put everything at risk for maybe a 5% chance he could win.
Yes, especially considering he was so concerned about his legacy, being a 2-division champion, etc...I’m guessing he got a nice fat bonus for saving the card……but still, short term reward was not worth it.
Yes, especially considering he was so concerned about his legacy, being a 2-division champion, etc...
I could've understood a scenario, where he KO'ed Islam in the first round, and then he believed he's so much better than him, that he didn't think he would pose a challenge, even without a camp.
But he lost the first fight, with full preparation, on home soil, and somehow concluded that by not having a camp while Islam was completely prepared, he would have a good chance of winning. It's still unbelievable that he accepted the fight.
"Obviously my next fight is for the title.."
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Why are you surprised about that? UFC has assured him behind scenes that his next fight will be the winner of Topuria vs Holloway if that's what he wants.
Probably but then again maybe not in terms of financial compensation, I'm sure the ufc HEAVILY compensated him to that the short notice fight and probably is financially fine at this point.Guy is obviously at a crossroads, and truth be told, the likelihood is his career is gonna go only one way from here……..that said, if he wants it, he probably deserves a shot to regain his title at 145.
Taking that 2nd Islam fight on 2 weeks notice then the Ilia fight 3 months later must go down as the biggest career suicide decision in recent MMA history.
Absolutely destroyed his career overnight. It's crazy to watch happen in real time.Guy is obviously at a crossroads, and truth be told, the likelihood is his career is gonna go only one way from here……..that said, if he wants it, he probably deserves a shot to regain his title at 145.
Taking that 2nd Islam fight on 2 weeks notice then the Ilia fight 3 months later must go down as the biggest career suicide decision in recent MMA history.