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

[Natural Order]

Wait for it….drinking daily to come down the pipes next week…

 

[bjjwar]

To be fair Volk was looking really good in there. Seemed like an easy cruise for him till he got caught...

 

[Ace70 V2]

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.

He's already shown that he is well rounded by beating Hall, and Mitchell. They sound pretty dumb. But I know they watched those fights and know what he can do.

 

[TempleoftheDog]

From 25-1 to 26-4 in the proverbial blink of an eye. It’s trippy how quickly your legacy can take a massive hit. At the end of the day there’s only room for wins, losses, draws, and NC in the record books.

And 4 losses isn’t as spectacular as only 1 loss. And FW GOAT status is forever out of reach now. The rematch with Islam was a bad idea. And I think a rematch with Topuria in the next six months would also be also be a bad idea.

Alex has balls but he’s a little too impetuous. And was already talking about going back to LW after beating Topuria. But it’s his body, career, and legacy.

 

[Tweak896]

Dismissing it as a puncher's chance seems a little underrating his setup to get there. It's like saying he was a brawler with KO power or something when he's very technical to get to that point. His whole game is a setup to land those big punches.

 

[Fact Checker]

Let’s be honest… Volk was point fighting with busy work. He planned to spam kicks most fight from the outside for 5 rounds en route to a decision.

Topuria on the other hand went into the fight with the intention of finishing Volk… was making reads, and committing to the few strikes he threw to break Volk down… the body shots and calf kick he spun Volk with are perfect examples. He got Volks timing and movement and unleashed those shots.

It almost feels like they’re downplaying Topuria to a power puncher merely winging hooks aimlessly.

 

[Portland8242]

That's a fuckin delusional take wow. That wasn't no punchers chance, that was one fighter imposing their skills on another, trapping them, and KO'ing them.

 

[Portland8242]

Dismissing it as a puncher's chance seems a little underrating his setup to get there. It's like saying he was a brawler with KO power or something when he's very technical to get to that point. His whole game is a setup to land those big punches.

Illia demonstrated phenomenal reads, predicted Volk's exits when he trapped him on the cage, and threw a hell of a flurry that culminated in the KO.

Maybe Volk's team is in denial that there might actually be another FW who's better than him.

 

[Morning Star]

Puncher's chance like it was some flailing wild punch after getting dominated. That lights out shot was calculated and surgical. Being in complete denial isn't the best way to come back from a loss like that.

 

[moreorless87]

To be fair Volk was looking really good in there. Seemed like an easy cruise for him till he got caught...

I didnt think so at all, Volk looked very nervous to me, afraid to sit down on any of his strikes and was still getting caught by much bigger shots multiple times before he was put down.

It wasnt a domination but the finish absolutely did not come out of nowhere, there were clear warning signs.

 

[The Siege]

He's already shown that he is well rounded by beating Hall, and Mitchell. They sound pretty dumb. But I know they watched those fights and know what he can do.

Yeah, I am sure that they were aware, but having those skills is different than implementing them at the highest level.

They might have been confident that Ilia wouldn't try to test his grappling against Volk after seeing the success he had against Makhachev who is much bigger and who has shown his grappling to be better than everyone in his division.

So, maybe in their mind, they had the edge in striking technique and movement and they only had to worry about the power. They were kind of right in that Ilia didn't try to grapple offensively, but that's because he wasn't in any danger on the feet and it was still early in the fight.

 

[The Siege]

From 25-1 to 26-4 in the proverbial blink of an eye. It’s trippy how quickly your legacy can take a massive hit. At the end of the day there’s only room for wins, losses, draws, and NC in the record books.

And 4 losses isn’t as spectacular as only 1 loss. And FW GOAT status is forever out of reach now. The rematch with Islam was a bad idea. And I think a rematch with Topuria in the next six months would also be also be a bad idea.

Alex has balls but he’s a little too impetuous. And was already talking about going back to LW after beating Topuria. But it’s his body, career, and legacy.

It's sad, but Volk can raise his head high. Didn't avoid anyone, fought a ton of different styles, and went up to challenge a champion who will likely go on to become the LW GOAT, hell maybe even higher when it's all said and done.

At the end of the day, the choice for Volk that fateful October was clear:

Choice 1: a new contract with much better compensation, free title shot without risking your belt, and a chance at MMA immortality by beating a monster on a weeks notice.

Choice 2: sit tight, heal up, keep negotiating a contract with your current level of leverage, and when healed get ready to face a young, hungry, hard hitting killer in Ilia.

If you choose #2, you lose #1 forever.

You choose #1, and at the time, the risk is minimal, Islam doesnt really do damage, go in there, give it your all, and the worst is that you get subbed or lose a decision. And Choice #2 is still available, win or lose.

He made the choice, and I can see the reasoning. However, everything that could go wrong, did go wrong.

Personally, if I was in his camp, I would have not taken the 2nd Makh fight.

 

[Hog-train]

I didnt think so at all, Volk looked very nervous to me, afraid to sit down on any of his strikes and was still getting caught by much bigger shots multiple times before he was put down.

It wasnt a domination but the finish absolutely did not come out of nowhere, there were clear warning signs.

I agree. Volk didn't really commit to any of his strikes. They seemed half hearted to me.

 

[The Siege]

I didnt think so at all, Volk looked very nervous to me, afraid to sit down on any of his strikes and was still getting caught by much bigger shots multiple times before he was put down.

It wasnt a domination but the finish absolutely did not come out of nowhere, there were clear warning signs.

I agree, he looked very cautious, mindful of the power that could come at him at any second. He needed to be near perfect for a large part of the fight, while Ilia just needed a few chances to connect clean.

 

[MrBlackheart]

Joe Lopez looks like that guy in the infomercial audience who would try the rotisserie chicken and tell you how great the machine is.

 

[Ramon Antonio]

If he only has a puncher's chance then take him down you idiot.

 

[jeff7b9]

Problem is, I saw that opening from a mile away all fight long, it was just a matter of time until Illia felt comfortable enough with the timing and distance.

it was there all day.

Ilia was just waiting for his window to do it without much risk, which didn't take him long to find.

 

[usernamee]

They had Ilia right where they wanted him

 

[jeff7b9]

Punchers chance
+ slow old guy leaving enormous openings
= easy work

If this is Volks actual take on the fight, Ilia is free money in the rematch (which he probably is even if volk does screw his head on straight.)


Volk would need:

Disciplined high guard
Long range kick heavy approach
Perfect footwork and range management
Lots of wrestling and level changes
All the way in or all the way out

And he may still lose.
But without those adjustments forget it, it is over before it starts.

 

[sdpdude9]

I didnt think so at all, Volk looked very nervous to me, afraid to sit down on any of his strikes and was still getting caught by much bigger shots multiple times before he was put down.

It wasnt a domination but the finish absolutely did not come out of nowhere, there were clear warning signs.

I saw it the same way. Volk was getting up on volume with safe non-commital strikes but it was obvious the danger was coming from the other side. It seemed to me he was getting stalked and set up early on. As soon as Topuria went for it it was over. Almost from the get go it looked bad for him even though he was getting points.