UFC 284: Makhachev vs. Volkanovski discussion thread

[CanuckGame]

Im no fan of Volk, (that has changed after tonight) but what an absolute bullchit decision.

Volk would run through the lightweight division 100% the only guy who woule give him issues is Olivera.

That was a hell of a good fight.

[blazenbb]

Sitting on someones back and not doing anything for minutes shouldnt give point.

Agreed. Go do g4p if that’s all you’re going to do

[Swept]

Islam won every round except the last. Volk is a strong ass midget with a crazy gas tank.

[Zere0wn]

Yeah Islam just landed some bombs and had great knees in the clinch. Half of islams falls weren’t from strikes, he was just trippin around

Like Volks first fall that was more of a behind the ear hit + off balance thing. Lot more of that than real knockdown this fight. Volk intentionally making the standup awkward probably part of it.

[ninetynine8]

Islam won every round except the last. Volk is a strong ass midget with a crazy gas tank.

not true at all... islam was the one getting gassed going for the chokes while getting soft punched in the face. Could tell they were going to give those to Islam though

[TrueTruth]

How to become a champion for dummies:

Focus on training nothing but grappling and just hug your opponent on the mat for 25 minutes. Don't even bother going for submission because judges will give you a point anyway. Nothing else matters...

Modern MMA in a nutshell. Who needs melatonin when you got this sh*t?

[8pieces]

I had 3-2 volk (rd 2,3,5). you could argue round 4 was volk based of damag because all islam did all round was hug volk

[Zere0wn]

Aldo looked unbeatable at 145 until Holloway, who then looked unbeatable and had one of the best runs ever, and Volk beat that guy. 3 times. Volk is so good and his camp is super smart. I'd pick him in a rematch even though Islam is probably by far the best in his stacked lightweight division. I think they're got the pop 1 and 2 right. Both amazing.

[Achilles87]

Sitting on someones back and not doing anything for minutes shouldnt give point.

While being punched in the face.

The least dominant "dominant position" I've ever seen.

[Zere0wn]

How to become a champion for dummies:

Focus on training nothing but grappling and just hug your opponent on the mat for 25 minutes. Don't even bother going for submission because judges will give you a point anyway. Nothing else matters...

Modern MMA in a nutshell. Who needs melatonin when you got this sh*t?

It's been like this at times off and on. I used to think the same when Matt Hughes was dominating. That's why I liked pride rules better. Knees to grounded opponents and soccer kicks, while brutal, discouraging wrestling some. Also pride would stand up quickly if the grappling wasn't going anywhere like in rd4.

[goingcia]

volk would win the rm btw, i don't think islam can do much better. He played his best game while volk missed a couple of oppurtinities

Have to agree with this. Volk got better and better as the fight went on and he figured Islam out more. He would have probably finished it with 30 more secs or even less.

[iloveus]

Aldo looked unbeatable at 145 until Holloway, who then looked unbeatable and had one of the best runs ever, and Volk beat that guy. 3 times. Volk is so good and his camp is super smart. I'd pick him in a rematch even though Islam is probably by far the best in his stacked lightweight division. I think they're got the pop 1 and 2 right. Both amazing.

Shows the how good they are.

The skill gap between them and the rest of the divisions.

[gainslit]

What a load of chit. Can’t bet on ufc for this reason, entirely rigged to appeal to the obvious demographic fan base they’re trying to appeal to.

Volk won that.

[Swept]

not true at all... islam was the one getting gassed going for the chokes while getting soft punched in the face. Could tell they were going to give those to Islam though

Volk got out-struck, got dropped twice and taken down multiple times

[Schnitzl]

Islam didn't look undefeatable tbh. Maybe bad weight cut or he simply hasn't faced adversity before. I think DP takes him if they face each-other. Volk did good, just didn't identify when Islam started getting tired mid round 4 and ducked for takedowns. Uppercuts would have been nice there.

Armchair MMA expert out

[sooby]

i think we could all agree that Islam didn't look all that dominant at all and the optics/performance in round 5 wasn't that great for him


barely edged the striking, wasn't dominant on the ground but I think did enough with some heavy strikes to get by + some threatening grappling exchanges. but volk did defend a lot of that well but you don't get points for defense.

[Nicklol]

what a ****ing joke.. volk robbed after performance of a lifetime.

when islam needed a takedown the most, Alex reversed and stuffed it, then backed him down, ended up the round on top pounding him.

3-2 volk.. but wait no!! we gotta keep islam champ or division dies.. PLUS, hes khabibs but buddy.. joke

[Nicklol]

I had 3-2 volk (rd 2,3,5). you could argue round 4 was volk based of damag because all islam did all round was hug volk

yes, you could argue that but we just assume he lost that cuz islam backpacked him.

volk is amazing. but legacy ruined now due to this sht

[bicmane789]

yes, you could argue that but we just assume he lost that cuz islam backpacked him.

volk is amazing. but legacy ruined now due to this sht

???

volk stock up big after this fight.

also, extremely reasonable to have islam winning 3 rounds. not sure what this robbery talk is about.

[MEDITATE]

islam weight cut definitley took its toll on him.... next fight alex needs to go up to islam's normal weight

[TrueTruth]

Next Islam's fight is going to be a guaranteed flop, unless UFC again throws another superstar against him to carry the card. No one is going to pay money to watch this boring ****g0ts g4p hugging. Aussie crowd was awesome booing this neanderthal-looking bitch every time he did his trademark dive for the balls

[Cartiac]

Bet you khabib is gonna whoop his ass when he gets back home lmao

Haha, I said the same thing. Islam gassed in the 5th and it nearly cost him the fight, not to mention getting put on his back. Khabib is going to beat him for not working hard enough to maintain even that fairly mild pace.

[taskmob]

Next Islam's fight is going to be a guaranteed flop, unless UFC again throws another superstar against him to carry the card. No one is going to pay money to watch this boring ****g0ts g4p hugging. Aussie crowd was awesome booing this neanderthal-looking bitch every time he did his trademark dive for the balls

Idk I'm pretty excited for Islam vs Dariush if Dariush beats charles but I think they should run this fight back

[CanardMedic]

Khabib is gonna tear up Islam for not dominating this fight.
Never thought he'd gass out like that either.

[bfdehewdbyywhn]

How to become a champion for dummies:

Focus on training nothing but grappling and just hug your opponent on the mat for 25 minutes. Don't even bother going for submission because judges will give you a point anyway. Nothing else matters...

Modern MMA in a nutshell. Who needs melatonin when you got this sh*t?

he still won technically cause he didn't get knocked out

[bfdehewdbyywhn]

Islam will never do this

but he should go up a weight class

khabib avoided the same thing

[akmerle]

yes, you could argue that but we just assume he lost that cuz islam backpacked him.

volk is amazing. but legacy ruined now due to this sht

I think Volk did amazing, and his stock / legacy didn’t drop at all. I fully admit I underestimated him, and I already was really impressed with him as the best 145’er ever. He showed up incredibly so.

As for the decision, it was a SUPER close fight, and could see it 48 vs 47 for either. But I also think this fight is an absolute textbook case of having to watch a fight on “mute” as to not let the crowd and commentary give emotional impact on what you are actually seeing and scoring.

Doesn’t matter tho. Great show by both fighters. Looking forward to Islam’s next fight, especially since he acknowledges how he has to improve.

And REALLY looking forward to Volk vs Yair. Yair’s kicks and knees will be an interesting dynamic for Volk to contend with.

Again, really impressed with Volk. This fight made me an even bigger fan. Have a new appreciation for how smart and gutty a fighter he is. Well done sir.

[Gringo12]

Not sure why everyone's upset. Nobody lost stock in that fight. Volk better on the ground than expected and Islam better striking.

I had it 4 rounds to 1 for Islam. People being blinded by the dominant 5th round for volk and forgetting that Islam had control time and the better shots in the previous rounds. Don't like being held down for 4 minutes? Then don't get taken down or learn how to escape. It's mma.

Islam deserves all the praise. His level of competition went from bobby green to beating arguably the best LW champ to then beating the #1 p4p in his home country.


Volk is a legend and deserves all the praise for taking the challenge and doing so well. But he clearly didn't win

[Gizzyhardcore]

Islam going to go to sleep tonight as the "p4p no 1" but know he had to panic wrestle and grapple stall a 145'er, and end up on his back taking punches to the face as the fight ended.

Volk is levels above Islam.

[Gizzyhardcore]

Islam will never do this

but he should go up a weight class

khabib avoided the same thing

Hes (or Khabib) as just not the level of fighter to do that. We're talking all time GOATS, like Conor, DC, Izzy.

Hes a wrestler so relies on size and strength. He'd lose that advantage going up. So he best just talk about going up in weight like 2nd teir fighters - Jones, Anderson, Aldo, Mightymouse etc.