Volkov is more than just the HW gatekeeper. Who else still believes he can go higher.

650lb Sumo

650lb Sumo

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The top 7 are

Ngannou - hasn't fought
Gane - lost
Stipe - hasn't fought
Lewis - lost
Blaydes - lost

Rozenstruik - hasn't fought
Volkov

His recent win over Tybura, who is ranked 11th, was solid, snapped a 5 fight streak but he was expected to beat him. Volkov is 8-3 in the UFC, all good named opponents and his only losses are to top 5 fighters. Stipe seems to be out of action at the moment, if he ever fights again, so ideally Volkov would fight Rozenstruik next, even if he is coming off a loss. Striker vs striker and Volkov is the bigger, better striker. Otherwise of those ranked above him he should be favoured to beat Lewis in a rematch, he dominated 99% of that fight before relaxing 10 seconds too early.

The Blaydes fight all 3 judges gave Volkov round 5 and 2 of them gave him round 4. For all his takedowns Blaydes did very little damage with his GnP. Only Ngannou and Lewis have been able to solve that puzzle so far but I don't see why Volkov can't do what they did, he weighs 263lbs now which means more stopping power to punish attempts to close the distance as well as more strength and weight to counter the TD and at 33 he is still improving, Tybura got nowhere with his wrestling. Ok Blaydes wrestles better than Tybura but I think Volkov could get the nod in a rematch in 2022.

Volkov took Gane, the unbeaten interim champion, the distance, even if it was 50-45, 50-45, 49-46 in sig strikes the difference was only 135-115 and Volkov was never in any danger. That's a rematch for a little further down the road but there's no reason it wouldn't be competitive again. Gane can be figured out the same as anyone else. As for Ngannou sure if he connects he can knock anyone out but if Gane can beat him so can Volkov the same way.

So to sum up Volkov is an upwardly mobile HW with the tools to beat anyone in the division and I see him fighting for the belt in the future. Very experienced, still only 33, one of the best strikers at HW, 6'7" 263lbs, strong TDD and can take guys down and GnP them if he wants, all his losses were very competitive and he's still improving, he can take revenge.
 
I think Volkov is at the end of the day not good enough to be the champ. He got bigger, yes, and he can finish guys, I just don't think he has it enough. I didn't think he looked good against Tybura who's pretty legit.

I think if Volkov has the half the athleticism that Gane and Ngannou has, he can be a force in the weight division. I don't think he's athletically gifted.
 
But when you are top 10, you ain't a gatekeeper. I think Volkov is better than a gatekeeper.

I still think he can beat a lot of guys. HE's tall, can use his reach, brown belt in BJJ, improved TDs, dangerous striker.

I just think he's not good enough to be in the top echeleon, but hey, it's nothing to scoff at, to be top 10 in the world.
 
He’s relatively low output but I think he can beat Stipe and Francis, the problems for him are Ganeand Blaydes
 
This

he has another 5 years or so to win the belt, wouldnt surprise me at all if he did so
 
The scorecard against Gane doesn't seem fair TBH.

In round 3 you can hear (in french) Gane's corner screaming "You're losing ,you're down 2 round already, let's go, let's fucking go, move forward and boxe if you want to win!!"

Volkov gave good opposition with his low kick in first rounds, making Gane miss and pay.
But Volkov is in the downhill and Gane is not yet in his technical MMA prime ,so the rematch will likely be worse for Volkov
 
JustOnce said:
But when you are top 10, you ain't a gatekeeper. I think Volkov is better than a gatekeeper.

I still think he can beat a lot of guys. HE's tall, can use his reach, brown belt in BJJ, improved TDs, dangerous striker.

I just think he's not good enough to be in the top echeleon, but hey, it's nothing to scoff at, to be top 10 in the world.
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The term gatekeeper isn't negative at all. It's imo one of the more badass positions in the sport.

A gatekeeper to me is what separates the good ones and the great ones.

A good example of a high level gatekeeper is Brunson. That man only let the great ones pass through the gate. If you beat him, you're good enough to fight for the title. That's where Volkov is currently. You beat Volkov, you will probably go on to do great things.
 
13Seconds said:
The term gatekeeper isn't negative at all. It's imo one of the more badass positions in the sport.

A gatekeeper to me is what separates the good ones and the great ones.

A good example of a high level gatekeeper is Brunson. That man only let the great ones pass through the gate. If you beat him, you're good enough to fight for the title. That's where Volkov is currently. You beat Volkov, you will probably go on to do great things.
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Hm

I don't think that's what gatekeeper is, but you are right about Brunson. If you beat Brunson, you are legit.

I do not know if you can say that about Volkov.

But maybe. Before Brunson fought Holland, Brunson was massive underdog. I remember telling this to someone talking about that fight, if you beat Brunson, you are legit.

He didn't.
 
650lb Sumo said:
1a0d3079-221e-476b-b498-278443a62dac.jpg


The top 7 are

Ngannou - hasn't fought
Gane - lost
Stipe - hasn't fought
Lewis - lost
Blaydes - lost

Rozenstruik - hasn't fought
Volkov

His recent win over Tybura, who is ranked 11th, was solid, snapped a 5 fight streak but he was expected to beat him. Volkov is 8-3 in the UFC, all good named opponents and his only losses are to top 5 fighters. Stipe seems to be out of action at the moment, if he ever fights again, so ideally Volkov would fight Rozenstruik next, even if he is coming off a loss. Striker vs striker and Volkov is the bigger, better striker. Otherwise of those ranked above him he should be favoured to beat Lewis in a rematch, he dominated 99% of that fight before relaxing 10 seconds too early.

The Blaydes fight all 3 judges gave Volkov round 5 and 2 of them gave him round 4. For all his takedowns Blaydes did very little damage with his GnP. Only Ngannou and Lewis have been able to solve that puzzle so far but I don't see why Volkov can't do what they did, he weighs 263lbs now which means more stopping power to punish attempts to close the distance as well as more strength and weight to counter the TD and at 33 he is still improving, Tybura got nowhere with his wrestling. Ok Blaydes wrestles better than Tybura but I think Volkov could get the nod in a rematch in 2022.

Volkov took Gane, the unbeaten interim champion, the distance, even if it was 50-45, 50-45, 49-46 in sig strikes the difference was only 135-115 and Volkov was never in any danger. That's a rematch for a little further down the road but there's no reason it wouldn't be competitive again. Gane can be figured out the same as anyone else. As for Ngannou sure if he connects he can knock anyone out but if Gane can beat him so can Volkov the same way.

So to sum up Volkov is an upwardly mobile HW with the tools to beat anyone in the division and I see him fighting for the belt in the future. Very experienced, still only 33, one of the best strikers at HW, 6'7" 263lbs, strong TDD and can take guys down and GnP them if he wants, all his losses were very competitive and he's still improving, he can take revenge.
Click to expand...
I still can't believe he lost that Lewis fight.
 
13Seconds said:
The term gatekeeper isn't negative at all. It's imo one of the more badass positions in the sport.

A gatekeeper to me is what separates the good ones and the great ones.

A good example of a high level gatekeeper is Brunson. That man only let the great ones pass through the gate. If you beat him, you're good enough to fight for the title. That's where Volkov is currently. You beat Volkov, you will probably go on to do great things.
Click to expand...

Gate keeper is not a badass thing. Its like saying the doorman is badass. Thats what the gatekeeper analogy refers to. Youre a stepping stone for the ranked fighters.
 
He could beat Lewis and Blades in a rematch maybe, but for the guys a notch above he's really gonna need a big boost in his game still. But as a heavyweight I'd say he still has 5 solid years left, and in that time a lot things can happen.
 
When it comes to heavyweights, every fight is literally Russian roulette. Tim Sylvia did it. Of course he could do it.
 
Nah so fucking slow and robotic even by Heavyweight standards
 
The Chosen said:
He’s relatively low output but I think he can beat Stipe and Francis, the problems for him are Ganeand Blaydes
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what do you think he has that Francis will have problems with? i think his height and length can be problematic, but that can only be for so long. it was the same with Gane. Gane had some problems with him early on, but after a while Volkov's lack of output makes it easier for them to settle down and focus on adjusting.
 
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