Media Who is the Featherweight GOAT?

[helltoupee]

You don't know what you're watching.

Sure thing buddy.

There is no technique involved when he was literally running away at times.

I'm not talking about his footwork and countering. He literally ran away a few times. If you can't recognize that and instead think you are watching some amazing footwork, then I will invite you to re-read your post and this time listen real closely for the irony.

 

[helltoupee]

That's only if you count the WEC.

Why wouldn't you count the WEC? It was the premiere featherweight org at the time. The WEC became the UFC featherweight division. The only thing that changed was the name.

 

[DrRodentia]

Sure thing buddy.

There is no technique involved when he was literally running away at times.

I'm not talking about his footwork and countering. He literally ran away a few times. If you can't recognize that and instead think you are watching some amazing footwork, then I will invite you to re-read your post and this time listen real closely for the irony.

When you are looking to fight at distance in MMA, which Volk was, in a fight he won, then yes, one must retreat to reestablish the distance you want to fight at. It's not because of fear. Buddy.

 

[FlyingDeathKick]

Ik he beat Holloway 3x but Holloway deserves a spot as well. All 3 of them are close. Max went on a crazy streak, winning 14 in a row at 145 and defending 3x.

In the past 11 years and last 22 fights at 145, he has not lost a fight in the division that wasn't for the belt.

 

[helltoupee]

When you are looking to fight at distance in MMA, which Volk was, in a fight he won, then yes, one must retreat to reestablish the distance you want to fight at. It's not because of fear. Buddy.

He did do what you say, which I give Volk full credit for. But there were also a few times he was literally running away.

Nobody said anything about fear, so go blow down that strawman somewhere else.

 

[DrRodentia]

He did do what you say, which I give Volk full credit for. But there were also a few times he was literally running away.

Nobody said anything about fear, so go blow down that strawman somewhere else.

It's implied. When you accuse a fighter of running, what are you really saying?

 

[JustBleed69]

Aldo should have lost multiple of his title defenses & Volks run is way more impressive. He also beat the other 2 contenders for FW goat contention.

 

[helltoupee]

It's implied. When you accuse a fighter of running, what are you really saying?

I thought you were the fight expert?

He was concerned with taking more damage and losing. Which should be pretty obvious, nobody is saying he was scared. You assumed that. Which makes it kind of funny that you ridiculed me for "not knowing what I'm watching".

Let me ask you a question. Just before the final bell, why didn't Volk engage?

 

[JKS]

Volk

 

[WoozyFailGuy]

That's only if you count the WEC.

Of course I count WEC, you have to for FW.
It had the best FWs on the planet at the time as the UFC didn't even have the divisions.

 

[DrRodentia]

I thought you were the fight expert?

He was concerned with taking more damage and losing. Which should be pretty obvious, nobody is saying he was scared. You assumed that. Which makes it kind of funny that you ridiculed me for "not knowing what I'm watching".

Let me ask you a question. Just before the final bell, why didn't Volk engage?

Beause he already won enough rounds to secure the decision, and he knew. Why throw down and throw it all away? Volk is a veteran, and thinks like one.

Look at the original post you made that I replied to. Essentially "Volk ran, lol". Am I supposed to extrapolate your nuanced thoughts from that?

 

[Poirierfan]

Anyone that's been around long enough knows it's still Aldo, just look at the title defenses. Also was undefeated for 10 years at the top. Was much more lethal than Volk as well.

 

[mirellale]

Aldo should have lost multiple of his title defenses & Volks run is way more impressive. He also beat the other 2 contenders for FW goat contention.

What? Which title defense fights should he have lost?

 

[Gabe]

Jose Aldo

 

[Prazeres]

Despite thinking Volk passed him, I still think Aldo is criminally underated by most. You can make an argument that he had a carreer as good as GSP and he just stuck around fighting the millionth next generation of fighters instead of going away when things got rough.
I don't think GSP ever beat anybody as good as Frankie and Mendes in their prime and Aldo late career bantamweight run is more impressive then beating 1 fight away from retirement, blantant duck paper champ, one eyed Bisping.

 

[Plissken]

There really isn't one. Aldo had a great run, longevity, was a breakthrough star that put the weight on the map way more than the previous generation of guys like Pequeno, Curran, Menjivar, and Hansen, and beat excellent competition like Edgar, Faber, Brown, Mendes, KZ, Florian, Cub, and Moicano.
Volk beat two other FW goat contenders in Aldo and Holloway x3 (one very close fight), plus Mendes, Yair, Ortega, Lopes, Elkins, and KZ (though an old KZ) to boot.
Then you have Holloway who beat Aldo twice, plus Edgar, Yair, Ortega, KZ (an old KZ though), Pettis, Oliveira, and Cub.

Volk beating the other two on this list is huge for his legacy, and he beat a prime Holloway, though Aldo was already past his prime (just couldn't be helped as their primes didn't overlap) so that (I believe) makes this difficult.

Too bad McGregor left the division early as he had a pretty nice run going and could have built a legacy to contend on this list since he had wins over Aldo, Mendes, Porier, and a young Holloway in a short time. Wish he would have dropped back down after beating Alvarez. I hope Topuria doesn't make the same mistakes.

 

[JKS]

The problem with having Aldo as GOAT is that he lost 2x to Max by finish, Volk and Conor by KO. He clearly lost to all three of the other great FWs. If it was one, or maybe two, I can let it go. But he lost to all three.

While GOAT heavily depends on title defences and winning streak, time at the top. There is the element of actually being the best and being able to beat the other best fighters. And it’s clear that Aldo is not as he lost to all three clearly.

Also, while Aldo has many defenses. He lacked that 1 or 2 great wins over other great fighters. Volk had wins over Max 3x and Aldo, Max had two wins over Aldo. Aldo’s best win is Mendes??

 

[fortheo]

It is still Aldo based off of accomplishments.

Aldo and Volk are probaby the strongest 1 and 2 goats of any division in the sport.

 

[helltoupee]

Beause he already won enough rounds to secure the decision, and he knew. Why throw down and throw it all away? Volk is a veteran, and thinks like one.

Look at the original post you made that I replied to. Essentially "Volk ran, lol". Am I supposed to extrapolate your nuanced thoughts from that?

Yes, Volk used a smarter gameplan to win a UFC belt.

But there were a few times where he literally ran away from the fight.

I can appreciate the nuance of the sport in the context of a fight.

Watch the fight without commentary. Rogan and crew have a real bad habit of painting an influential picture of what might be going on when it's just their subjective opinion. There were a couple times where Anik accidentally called a landed strike by Lopes as a "jab by Volanovski" - he simply got the name wrong. Plenty of times during exchanges Volk was given full credit when we can all agree the Lopes hits a lot harder yet it was only "ooooo great left by Volk" when Lopes landed just as flush.

I'm not denying that Volk is champion for a reason. He's obviously an incredibly skilled athlete and deserves all of the accolades he's earned. But there is no question that the commentary was extremely bias towards him, and that can be very powerful in people's minds.

 

[DrRodentia]

Yes, Volk used a smarter gameplan to win a UFC belt.

But there were a few times where he literally ran away from the fight.

I can appreciate the nuance of the sport in the context of a fight.

Watch the fight without commentary. Rogan and crew have a real bad habit of painting an influential picture of what might be going on when it's just their subjective opinion. There were a couple times where Anik accidentally called a landed strike by Lopes as a "jab by Volanovski" - he simply got the name wrong. Plenty of times during exchanges Volk was given full credit when we can all agree the Lopes hits a lot harder yet it was only "ooooo great left by Volk" when Lopes landed just as flush.

I'm not denying that Volk is champion for a reason. He's obviously an incredibly skilled athlete and deserves all of the accolades he's earned. But there is no question that the commentary was extremely bias towards him, and that can be very powerful in people's minds.

Fair enough. I didn't watch the fight with commentary, I was on the phone with my brother not paying attention to the commentary crew.

I'll probably rewatch it tomorrow. It was a very good fight, either way.