Why are we pretending Gaethje is a bigger win than Volk?

[TriangleMonkey]

I would fucking love to see Volk vs Gaethje

 

[NoBiasJustMMA]

It matters, and Volk being one of the most dominant champs in UFC history also matters. Gaethje is not a championship level fighter, Volk is a bigger win, and yes even coming off a knockout loss, especially considering that it was vs another dominant champ and on a week's notice.

Volkanovski's ability to take punches was greatly compromised, the Volkanovski that Topuria beat wasn't the same championship level guy. Someone like Gaethje would have KOed Volkanovski as well coming back that soon after a KO loss.

 

[blaseblase]

Topuria was losing to Volk before he KO'd him. Max dominated Gaethje.

 

[usernamee]

Volkanovski's ability to take punches was greatly compromised, the Volkanovski that Topuria beat wasn't the same championship level guy. Someone like Gaethje would have KOed Volkanovski as well coming back that soon after a KO loss.

Maybe it was greatly compromised but that punch he ate bro.. Topuria couldn't possibly have lined himself up any better to deliver a harder punch than that and we all know how hard he cracks. Not sure who could eat that punch and carry on tbh.

 

[StonedLemur]

I understand how susceptible sherdog is to recency bias and now that Max just had the biggest moment of UFC 300 everyone is ready to crown him p4p goat, but y'all must have forgot that the guy had no answer for Volk and failed in 3 attempts to defeat him.

Topuria is like a quicker younger Volk that will hit him much harder, I don't get this narrative that Max is just gonna go back to 145 and take the title.

Gaethje is definitely a solid win, but it's been done before, he's been finished by several dudes before, and he's good but he's simply not a championship level fighter.

I didn't understand all the people saying Max was gonna get dusted in that fight, I was picking Max all the way, one of the most dominant FW champions vs a fringe top 5 LW who never touched a title.

Now I couldn't predict the way Max would beat him of course, I had Max by cruise control decision and we were a second away from exactly that.

I definitely enjoyed the way it went down in the end as much as the next guy.

That said, if Max tries that with Ilia, it will be him that gets sent to the realm of shadows.

That performance does make the fight a bit more interesting because before that I wouldn't even give Max another shot at that title, but I still don't see him winning that fight. Ilia will put his lights out standing and Max is not outgrappling him, forget the final 5 seconds of Max/Justin and snap yourselves back to reality... Max had a great run, but Topuria is the present and the future in that division.

Justin never got flatlined like that, and when he did get stopped...his opponents looked like they had been put through a grinder.

Just because Topuria beat Volk, doesn't mean that Max can't win.
Styles make fights, and MMA-math means little to nothing tbh.

If it did then what would be the purpose of them fighting in the first place?

 

[Koro_11]

Volkanovski's ability to take punches was greatly compromised, the Volkanovski that Topuria beat wasn't the same championship level guy. Someone like Gaethje would have KOed Volkanovski as well coming back that soon after a KO loss.

To be fair I think that combo Ilia landed would have dropped any version of Volk. Sure having been knocked out didn’t help, but taking one on the chin like that would end most fighters night.

 

[NoBiasJustMMA]

Maybe it was greatly compromised but that punch he ate bro.. Topuria couldn't possibly have lined himself up any better to deliver a harder punch than that and we all know how hard he cracks. Not sure who could eat that punch and carry on tbh.

He went 28 fights with only one TKO loss before the Islam KO and that was at 170. I think the Volkanovski that fought Max would have ate it and been able to continue. Besides its not just chin that's impacted from a KO and coming back too soon, reaction time slows so he might not have even got hit with it in the first place if he didn't come back so soon after the KO loss.

 

[Koro_11]

Topuria was losing to Volk before he KO'd him. Max dominated Gaethje.

LOL @ “losing”. Shut up dude.

Another way to spin it would be Ilia did in less than 2 rounds what Max couldn’t do in 15 rounds.

 

[orca]

weirdos here
we get it
the right answer is max is a fan favorite

bro u make a poll jones vs anyone
jones always loses

ofcourse max beating gaeth is bigger (fan favorite)
than islam beating volk (bad guy image)

according to weirdos

 

[StonedLemur]

When did Poatan become champ 3 months after being KOed? Certainly not in the UFC.

He did win an uninspiring decision against 40 year old Jan Blachowicz a few months after being KOed though.

 

[usernamee]

He went 28 fights with only one TKO loss before the Islam KO and that was at 170. I think the Volkanovski that fought Max would have ate it and been able to continue. Besides its not just chin that's impacted from a KO and coming back too soon, reaction time slows so he might not have even got hit with it in the first place if he didn't come back so soon after the KO loss.

Yes sure reaction time and how his mind worked in that situation as a whole but we were just talking about strictly taking a punch.

Answer is.. we don't know. The 28 stat is all fine and dandy but he has been rocked and dropped before too by Mendes. I never viewed him as a guy with a Khabib like granite chin. Just a good chin and great recoverability.

 

[StonedLemur]

weirdos here
we get it
the right answer is max is a fan favorite

bro u make a poll jones vs anyone
jones always loses

Jones has a lot of fans here sir.

Im not one of them, but he definitely dies have them.

 

[orca]

Jones has a lot of fans here sir.

Im not one of them, but he definitely dies have them.

not alot

 

[NoBiasJustMMA]

Yes sure reaction time and how his mind worked in that situation as a whole but we were just talking about strictly taking a punch.

Answer is.. we don't know. The 28 stat is all fine and dandy but he has been rocked and dropped before too by Mendes. I never viewed him as a guy with a Khabib like granite chin. Just a good chin and great recoverability.

But you can't just talk about strictly taking the punch cause when you can react faster you might not even get hit with it or he might have been able to roll with it better or make sure it doesnt land in a more vulnerable spot, all reduce the likelihood of a KO.

Khabib I don't think had a granite chin either, he always rolled very well with punches and rarely if ever got caught clean or took shots he didn't see coming. He almost never took shots to temple, the tip of the nose or end of the chin which are the easier spots to KO someone with strikes.

 

[usernamee]

But you can't just talk about strictly taking the punch cause when you can react faster you might not even get hit with it or he might have been able to roll with it better or make sure it doesnt land in a more vulnerable spot, all reduce the likelihood of a KO.

Khabib I don't think had a granite chin either, he always rolled very well with punches and rarely if ever got caught clean or took shots he didn't see coming. He almost never took shots to temple, the tip of the nose or end of the chin which are the easier spots to KO someone with strikes.

You don't think Khabib had a granite chin because he rolled with the punches well? You should say that you don't know if Khabib had a granite chin because he rolled with the punches well.

This is going nowhere because neither of us actually know and we are just guessing.

 

[NoBiasJustMMA]

You don't think Khabib had a granite chin because he rolled with the punches well? You should say that you don't know if Khabib had a granite chin because he rolled with the punches well.

This is going nowhere because neither of us actually know and we are just guessing.

Sure, Khabib never took the kind of shots to say he had a granite chin. You're missing the Forrest for the trees, my point was I don't think his chin was much different than Volkanovski's and that being able to react to punches greatly impacts if you will get KOed or not.

 

[usernamee]

Sure, Khabib never took the kind of shots to say he had a granite chin. You're missing the Forrest for the trees, my point was I don't think his chin was much different than Volkanovski's and that being able to react to punches greatly impacts if you will get KOed or not.

Well I've seen Volk get rocked and dropped multiple times and I've never seen Khabib rocked or dropped. Maybe their chins are identical. Maybe Volk just sucks at reacting to shots and Khabib is great at it like you said.. So maybe Topuria fight wouldn't have made any difference regardless of Islam KO since Volk clearly doesn't roll with punches as well anyways.

 

[The Siege]

You always see these types of posts after a fight is over with and how sure people were of the result.

Decided to check what you said before the fight and here it is:




Max all the way huh?

Ooof, Maddone, he looks terrible.

 

[The Don]

Max went up in weight, outclassed Justin (Who was ranked the number one contender) for 5 rounds and knocked him out in the last 2 seconds of the fight when he decided to stand and trade with him.

Is it as impressive as beating Volk? Depends on you're parameters. Is fighting and beating the champion in your weight division more impressive than moving up in weight and dominating a dangerous top 5 fighter?

Personally, Max is 1-2 against Volk in my eyes for what it's worth.

 

[The Don]

Max went up in weight, outclassed Justin (Who was ranked the number one contender) for 5 rounds and knocked him out in the last 2 seconds of the fight when he decided to stand and trade with him.

Is it as impressive as beating Volk? Depends on your parameters. Is fighting and beating the champion in your weight division more impressive than moving up in weight and dominating a dangerous top 5 fighter (Who had just knocked out another dangerous and elite fighter in Porier the fight before)

For what it's worth, I personally think Max is 1-2 against Volk.