Why isn't Volk more popular among fans?

[Brampton_Boy]

Up until last night, alot of people (myself included), thought Max was the superior fighter. Volk's performance completely put the question of "who's better" to rest, and the vast majority of people are now accepting that he is the best FW, and near the top of the p4p list. With that being said, fan interest and overall support for Volk remains relatively small.

You look at things like Instagram, YouTube and MMA forums, and Volk doesn't generate nearly as much fan interest as other fighters. Even newcomers and non champion fighters like O'Malley and Strickland triple the social media presence.

The strange part is that Volk has all the characteristics of someone who should be a superstar : Exciting fights, very active, zero ducking, good guy in and out of the ring, and dominant.

It sort of reminds me of pre Heel Cejudo, Mighty Mouse and Whitaker..... But somehow even less popular.

What's Volk missing?

 

[WildShrimper]

Not WWE enough, and confident.

 

[NoSmilez]

Short and bald. People actually pick favorites according to looks. It is odd.

 

[Arrrrgh]

Because most people were already fans of Max and the fights were close.

It's just an initial bias thing.

Volk is amazing and everyone who doesn't hate for fun is coming around.

 

[Arkham's Notorious Geyser]

Short and bald. People actually pick favorites according to looks. It is odd.

Short I can give you, but a majority of it is because he beat a beloved fan favorite in Max Holloway.

The only other time I've seen this happen was with Woodley when he KO'ed Lawler, and the dislike for him was WAY more justified in my opinion, and I spent a large amount of time defending Woodley on here.

It's gonna take a while for Max fans to forgive him for ending the Blessed Era, as awesome as it was.

 

[Bubba32]

Cuz he's a point fighter

 

[Street Bishop]

I'll go ahead and plug his Youtube channel in response to this thread
https://www.youtube.com/c/AlexVolkanovskiOfficial

Dude deserves way more subs. Cooking with Volk is a treat to watch.

 

[kyunghee]

Cuz he's a point fighter

A point fighter that bashes his opponents skulls.

 

[jeppe andersen]

I like his fighting ability but just think his personality is rather unlikeable - i can't pinpoint exactly what it is though.

 

[JonJonesNeedle]

Because we take things for granted.

Volk is the type of fighter that will be loved once he is missed.

 

[Arkham's Notorious Geyser]

A point fighter that bashes his opponents skulls.

And busted up Max worse than the much heavier Dustin Poirier.

At most he got a broken nose against Poirier, Volkanovski put Max's talk of "I am the heat" to the task and burned him.

 

[Dr.Phil is in my closet]

Max nailed it on the press conference
No highlights. Almost no finishes in his UFC run.
Only finish as a champ was tkz and that wasn't highlight worthy at all.
On top of that, he's 5'6 fighting at a 145 pounds.
Unless you have a very fan friendly style, or something McGregor esq to attract fans to you, it's always going to be harder for the smaller guys.
That being said, I think he's very clearly the pound for pound number one guy right now. He's absolutely destroyed his previously stacked division, that doesn't look so hot cause he's fucked everyone up lol

 

[m4cca]

He's fought nothing but fan favourites lately like aldo, max, zombie and ortega. It's also a pretty long and expensive trip for his aussie fans to get over and support him.

 

[DS66]

He's just kind of a normal guy. Doesn't necessarily have "it", when it comes to his personality. Sometimes its hard to put a finger on exactly what "it" is. But you know when someone has it.

Other than that....

- He's had some very boring "point fight" type fights in the past. The first two Max fights, the Aldo fight
- He doesn't have a high finish rate
- He fights in a lower weight class and is what people would refer to as a "manlet"

To clarify, I think its all bullshit- Volk is the man. One of the best fighters we've ever seen. But these are all reasons why he isn't super popular with the casuals.

 

[Brutus.......]

He’s from a small market, but keeps beating up fan favourites and ruining UFC plans for hyped US fighters as champ.

He gets no real push from Dana, so the casuals don’t rate him.

 

[tdluxon]

A point fighter that bashes his opponents skulls.

This was what I was thinking… he doesn’t have a great highlight reel or many big finishes

 

[Zarathustra611]

Max nailed it on the press conference
No highlights. Almost no finishes in his UFC run.
Only finish as a champ was tkz and that wasn't highlight worthy at all.
On top of that, he's 5'6 fighting at a 145 pounds.
Unless you have a very fan friendly style, or something McGregor esq to attract fans to you, it's always going to be harder for the smaller guys.
That being said, I think he's very clearly the pound for pound number one guy right now. He's absolutely destroyed his previously stacked division, that doesn't look so hot cause he's fucked everyone up lol

Hmm the Ortega fight is literally ALL highlights.

The rest is probably on the money.

Most fans love guys who stand there and get punched in the face all fight in wars. Volk doesn't always fight that way.

Most fans support guys from their own country first & foremost. They'll have favourites elsewhere but it's an advantage & relatable to be from the same place- most fans are from the USA. Volk isn't.

Max had a lot of fans. A real favourite for years. When Volk leg kicked him into oblivion last time i didn't sit well with Max fans- there were thread after thread of wanting rules changed, saying getting your leg turned purple & being unable to use it wasn't really significant damage etc.

I think winning that way did NOT win over the "war" fans.

 

[Mammothman]

He is just not charismatic, cool or likeable like Max sadly.

Great fighter, not boring but not super exciting either so I don't blame the fans if they are not invested on him.

 

[FreddieRoachsVoice]

Similar to Whittaker, he seems to be missing that "it factor". He's not boring but he's not exciting. He has a good resume but also lacks a big "signature performance". He's confident and well spoken but he's not charismatic or charming.

People seem to gravitate more towards extremes and Volk is kinda that "white meat" generic champion who you respect but don't get super excited to see. He never screws up and just plugs away and wins against other more popular fighters so if anything, it's a miracle he is not more (unfairly) disliked.

If he goes to 155 and say KOs Charles in the first though, I think he could break out as a star. Everyone loves a winner and an active champion (which he promises to be) should be something everyone gets behind in modern day

 

[ayaandirtyboy]

Up until last night, alot of people (myself included), thought Max was the superior fighter. Volk's performance completely put the question of "who's better" to rest, and the vast majority of people are now accepting that he is the best FW, and near the top of the p4p list. With that being said, fan interest and overall support for Volk remains relatively small.

You look at things like Instagram, YouTube and MMA forums, and Volk doesn't generate nearly as much fan interest as other fighters. Even newcomers and non champion fighters like O'Malley and Strickland triple the social media presence.

The strange part is that Volk has all the characteristics of someone who should be a superstar : Exciting fights, very active, zero ducking, good guy in and out of the ring, and dominant.

It sort of reminds me of pre Heel Cejudo, Mighty Mouse and Whitaker..... But somehow even less popular.

What's Volk missing?

i think the exciting fights part.
he is a pointfighter.
1 finish in his last 6