Volkanovski’s Head Coach: 'We Knew Ilia Had a Puncher’s Chance -- And He Got that Punch." Volkanovski Himself Makes No Excuses.

[bhop1986]

Morning Report: Coach says Ilia Topuria had ‘puncher’s chance’ vs. Alexander Volkanovski ‘and he got that punch’

There has been a changing of the guard at featherweight.

www.mmafighting.com

There has been a changing of the guard at featherweight. If Alexander Volkanovski has it his way, it will only be temporary.

UFC 298 got bigger and bigger by the day of its fight week in Anaheim, Calif. The undefeated first-time title challenger Ilia Topuria’s growing confidence only boosted until pressure seemingly was getting the better of him at the energetic pre-fight press conference this past Thursday.

In the end, Topuria made good on his predictions and knocked out the reigning featherweight champion in round two with a perfectly placed right hand against the cage. The loss was Volkanovski’s second in a row via strikes and his first at 145 pounds in his 30-fight career (16 at featherweight, 26-4 overall). However, it was a better performance than his previous loss against lightweight champion Islam Makhachev at UFC 294 in October.

Per all three judges on the night of UFC 298, Volkanovksi won round one and the Aussie’s coach Joe Lopez liked the way things were playing out overall.

“Alex was going through the gameplan, was finding his range and starting to touch him up,” Lopez told Daily Mail. “I was disappointed [by the result], knowing that Alex has a much better skill set … We knew coming into this fight he (Topuria) had a puncher’s chance — and he got that punch.”

Volkanovski, 35, was undeniably one of the best featherweight champions in MMA history with his five-defense stretch of dominance. Arguably the greatest of all time in the division to some, an immediate rematch wouldn’t be unjustifiable against the new title holder.

Ultimately, the 27-year-old Topuria isn’t against the idea but would like to “move on” and keep things fresh atop the division. In defeat, Volkanovski was nothing but graceful and had no excuses to be made.

Don’t expect that potential rematch to look the same though, says “The Great.”

"We knew he would be fast,” Volkanovski said in his post-fight scrum after UFC 298. “We knew he would be powerful, obviously. We knew not to be on the cage there and let him catch us there, so again, he did a great job there, so there’s not much I can say other than congrats to him.

“Obviously, I’ve been a champ for a long time and I want that rematch, so that’s something that needs to happen. I’ve been reigning champ for how long? I’ve been a bit of a company man. Went back up on short notice, I fought Max [Holloway] three times, you name it, I’ve done it individually for a long time so I think I deserve that and it’s going to be different next time.”

 

[Substance Abuse]

Fixed the OP for you as the link didn't work. Added the article and quotes itself as well.

 

[bhop1986]

Fixed the OP for you as the link didn't work.

thanks

 

[SaltedVinegarfootstomps]

Top has a strong base and ground game, classifying him as only having a punchers chance against Volk is likely part of the reason Alex found himself in a terrible spot before the KO. He will be better next time, as well. Volk needs to be realistic about the threat Illia posses to him in all facets.

 

[The Siege]

Fixed the OP for you as the link didn't work. Added the article and quotes itself as well.

The real MVP

 

[MMAFanCal]

Puncher chance? What a disrespectul statement. It was not a fluke. It was all strategy. Ilia was being very cautious in the first round and was trying to figure out Volk's timing. Once he had it figured out in the 2nd round, he unleashed hell on Volk. They keep making excuses yet, say they are not making any excuses. Same thing as Eugene Bareman when Adesanya lost to Strickland. They kept making excuses yet, he kept saying 'I want to be clear. I am making no excuses for this loss'.

 

[World eater]

If it took him less then 9 minutes to find the kill shot, it is a little more than just a “puncher chance”, isn’t it?

 

[The Siege]

I get what Lopez is saying, they believed that they can beat Ilia in a technical striking match for 25 minutes and that they would only have to avoid the power shots.

However, it seems like Ilia's skillset is deceptively simple. He just never has to leave Plan A which is his dangerous boxing. Volk is not going to get him to leave that plan without either some serious powerful leg kicks to take out that lead leg or grappling him for a large part of the fight until he is tired.

Volk couldn't get the clinch going and we know that Volk is great in the clinch, Volk couldn't get any offensive wrestling going either. So, basically, it only looks like Ilia has a puncher's chance because he didnt have to go into his bag of tricks.

 

[Harlekin]

Too bad his puncher's chance is 90% against Volk.
Next time Volk will be older. Top will be closer to his prime. So expect 95% next time.

 

[cereal gan]

illia caught him with the perfect punch, how is that by chance lol even his coach is coping hard

 

[Kryptt]

 

[Fedora Millionankles]

Fixed the OP for you as the link didn't work. Added the article and quotes itself as well.

TS probably needs help wiping his own ass. lol

 

[ChangeIsComing]

Delusional much?

 

[Chubi]

I can get the puncher's chance argument for a fight like the first Izzy vs Pereira in the UFC, where Alex kinda lost every rounds but got the KO in the 5th. But sayin' it was a lucky punch when Topuria was never in real danger and got the win in he 2nd round when Volk was still fresh is total BS.

 

[TheWobbler]

Rematch ends the same way.

 

[Skarsgard]

Puncher chance? What a disrespectul statement. It was not a fluke. It was all strategy. Ilia was being very cautious in the first round and was trying to figure out Volk's timing. Once he had it figured out in the 2nd round, he unleashed hell on Volk. They keep making excuses yet, say they are not making any excuses. Same thing as Eugene Bareman when Adesanya lost to Strickland. They kept making excuses yet, he kept saying 'I want to be clear. I am making no excuses for this loss'.

A puncher's chance isn't a fluke. That's a strategy for an opponent who outmatches you on paper. Volk was beating Ilia to the punch and was winning the stand-up, although it was close. Ilia fades hard later in the fight, so moving and evading damage to pour it on later is a valid approach. Volk just hasn't learned to keep his chin down on the fence and paid for it.

 

[MMAFanCal]

A puncher's chance isn't a fluke. That's a strategy for an opponent who outmatches you on paper. Volk was beating Ilia to the punch and was winning the stand-up, although it was close. Ilia fades hard later in the fight, so moving and evading damage to pour it on later is a valid approach. Volk just hasn't learned to keep his chin down on the fence and paid for it.

Puncher's chance is exactly what a fluke is called. It means something that is not probable but can happen. It is self-explanatory. I called it a few days ago when Volk claimed he would not make any excuses while I knew Volk and his team will starting rolling out excuses after a few days. There is zero chance Volk can beat Ilia. ZERO. Tipuria was saying it for weeks that he was going to knock him out and he did when everyone thought he was going to become a meme. Funny how the thread is about not making excuses, but it is all about excuses and not giving Tipuria the credit he deserves. All of these sound like loads of excuses of someone who lost terribly and is now coming up with excuses to somehow make it magically appear things would be different the next time. Tipuria was being cautious in the first round starting slow while trying to read Volk's timing and did not unleash his full power until he did and knocked Volk out. Next time, Volk would get knocked out even faster because Ilia has Volk figure out now.

 

[Skarsgard]

Puncher's chance is exactly what a fluke is called. It is self explanatory. There is zero chance Volk can beat Ilia. ZERO. Tipuria was saying it for weeks that he was going to knock him out and he did when everyone thought he was going to become a meme. Funny how the thread is about not making excuses, but it is all about excuses and not giving Tipuria the credit he deserves. All of these sound like loads of excuses of someone who lost terribly and is now coming up with excuses to somehow make it magically appear things would be different the next time. Tipuria was being cautious in the first round starting slow while trying to read Volk's timing and did not unleash his full power until he did and knocked Volk out. Next time, Volk would get knocked out even faster because Ilia has Volk figure out now.

No, dropping into a body jab and getting KO'd is a fluke. Winning because your opponent knocked himself out on a slam is a fluke. A puncher's chance is just a response to a skill discrepancy which was there.

To say that one of the two best featherweights of all time can't win is just dumb. There's no other way to put it. Ilia won because he fought uncharacteristically and because he had athleticism on his side. Ilia may win the rematch. He may do it even better than before. That's far from set in stone. We've seen Ilia struggle against lesser opponents than Volk before. He's a great fighter and I've been a fan since his debut. It doesn't mean he's a lock in every matchup or rematch.

You're overreacting emotionally or trolling. Pick one.

 

[MMAFanCal]

No, dropping into a body jab and getting KO'd is a fluke. Winning because your opponent knocked himself out on a slam is a fluke. A puncher's chance is just a response to a skill discrepancy which was there.

To say that one of the two best featherweights of all time can't win is just dumb. There's no other way to put it. Ilia won because he fought uncharacteristically and because he had athleticism on his side. Ilia may win the rematch. He may do it even better than before. That's far from set in stone. We've seen Ilia struggle against lesser opponents than Volk before. He's a great fighter and I've been a fan since his debut. It doesn't mean he's a lock in every matchup or rematch.

You're overreacting emotionally or trolling. Pick one.

Again, like I said puncher’s chance means something that is improbable, but not impossible to happen. You can go look it up. Volk’s team is doing exactly what I expected them to do. Claim they make no excuses and then make a list of long excuses.

 

[Bork Neslar]

What a great guy. Smart, honest and graceful. So unlike the haters, dickriders and bandwagoners who are now shitting on him here.