I know that this is not going to be a popular take but I feel that, solely because of how easily Volk won their last fight, Volk's value has been exaggerated and Max's value has consequently been depressed.
Yes, everyone accepted Max as the clear number two, but he is more than that imo. He is just a good, or maybe even better than Volk. Their third fight was lopsided because Max got cut early and it really affected him. Barring something like that, any fight between those two is going to be razor close. I am not saying this because Volk just lost two in a row and appears to be declining. It's just that Max keeps on proving that he is a lot better that what he showed in their third fight and I think that this is being overlooked.