Is Volk done?

[SeanWRT]

Physically, he's just half a beat off without properly training for the fight.

Mentally, he'd be still confident against anyone from FW. But it takes time for him to be ready to challenge LW title again if he ever plans to.

 

[StonedLemur]

Mentally he may be. He won't be competing for mma mount Rushmore anymore. It will be to collect paychecks.

He's still going after Aldo's FW title defense record tbf.

 

[jooohnmatrix]

Definitely and I think it’s clear that he was never that good and should retire soon. He could get work as a chimney sweep or a children’s model.

 

[IncreaseDanaPay]

He's at the age where nearly all fighters steeply decline. And he's at a lower weight class where the numbers are even worse against him. If he won 2-3 more fights at Featherweight it would be unbelievable and one of the biggest accomplishments in the entire sport when compared to everyone else who fought at championship levels at age 35 and up.

He’s showed no signs of slowing down. He could for sure be dominant for another few years

 

[Thepaintbucket]

Very possible given his age and the way he lost. Ko's can be career ending. It can also change the way you approach future fights. I guess in time we will know for sure

I know we have obviously seen people come back from a brutal loss.. ie Stipe and GSP but they were much younger and earlier into their career. Volks got to overcome this as a 35 year old defending champion

 

[Dana's Moonface]

We can't say he is done, but he will need to show so much mental toughness to overcome this. You got to understand a fighter with the run volk has is mentally invincible. No way did he imagine even King Kong could knock him out.

He now knows that a heavy shot can render him unconscious and no matter how mentally strong you are? It's always on the mind

Manny pacquiao was knocked out cold in 2012 by his nemesis Juan Manuel Marquez. Now Manny went right back on the saddle and put a beating on Rios his next fight. But the next time he faced a counter puncher with great timing (Floyd) he didn't fight his usual style. He threw less shots than normal and rarely charged in because you better believe that heavy right hand from Marquez was on his mind. If he never got knocked out, he would have been all over Floyd like a cheap suit

Volk is not getting any younger, but this is definitely going to play on his mind. He seems to be very strong mentally as a fighter and personally I think he can recover

 

[IncreaseDanaPay]

Mentally he may be. He won't be competing for mma mount Rushmore anymore. It will be to collect paychecks.

He’s the goat FW and still has a chance to retire as a goat. He’s for sure on the mma Mount Rushmore for his skill alone. He lost on short notice to a huge LW that he arguably beat the fight before. Volk should’ve been LW champ

 

[IncreaseDanaPay]

Very possible given his age and the way he lost. Ko's can be career ending. It can also change the way you approach future fights. I guess in time we will know for sure

People are acting like he was knocked out cold stiff. He got up instantly, the KO wasn’t that brutal.

 

[TheGreatA]

Probably. Not many guys come back from headkick KOs. He'll probably be a solid veteran gatekeeper like Usman, but no longer the top guy.

 

[GoatArtemLobov]

We' ve seen guys bounce back from worse knockouts than that. Actually, it was more of a knockdown and then Islam jumped on him and finished him. 10 seconds later, Volk was standing and conscious. Obviously not saying this is great for your health, but definitely not worse than 3 or 5 round wars we see all the time...
I would rather take this one than being in the common full fight wars Sherbros see as random...

It's on the mental aspect that this Ko could play a detrimential role. I hope Volk is strong enough to come back though.

 

[Young Calf Kick]

**The #2 P4P fighter in the world loses his first fight in 10 years**

Sherdog: “heheh looks like it’s time to start thinking about retirement buddy”

 

[Big Tuppy Hole]

Was never very good.

Got exposed.

Its not unusual for an aging dominant champ to lose 1 fight then go on a major skid.

 

[HolmeZy55]

Yep done, I mean I always knew he was a tomato can but losing to the LW champion confirmed it.

Bum material, should retire immediately, his wife should also divorce him because well who wants to be married to a bum fighter like that.

 

[shh]

He fought this Russian monster on 10 days notice and now we are starting retarded threads like these questioning whether or not Volk`s done because he lost? The fuck is wrong with you TS ?

 

[Gregoire1]

Today he is in the place of Usman had been after Edwards 2.

 

[moreorless87]

Its possible this might effect him I spose, whilst the kick did not look massive it was a really nasty shin to temple contact, the kind Mirko ended Wands prime with although Volk's style seems like dependant on confident aggression than Wands.

 

[CryptoCreep33]

People jumping the gun there shouldn't even be talk about that right now he still hasn't fought someone else he's fighting big fighters (size wise)

 

[Zarathustra611]

Lol. Yep he's done.

Lost a fight vs a worthy champ in a higher weight which he took with 11 days prep.

I'd go further OP. Volk isn't done, he's a myth. Never that good. What a hype job. Just a few lucky wins.

 

[TeenageMutantLesnarTurtle]

The guy is 35 in the lower weight classes, he was going to fall off within the next 2 years anyway probably. But yeah this probably speeds the process up a little. I still think he will win his next couple of fights at FW though.

 

[GearSolidMetal]

Volk is 35 & got brutally knocked out. We will have to see his next fight to see how he is and if he can bounce back. A knock out can change many things especially at that age

This.

That said, even if he does win his next fight at 145 he should absolutely be thinking about ending his career on a high point in the near future.

Although he just signed a new contract for big money he'd make more in the long run if his legacy is sealed as a P4P great, as opposed to being like so many other legends that are eventually forced to retire after long and embarrassing losing streaks and being remembered on lesser fighters highlight reels.

Edit - He'd earn more money by opening his own gym, endorsement deals, personal appearances, his YouTube channel, possibly as a coach, owning a management business for up&coming fighters in Australia.... and there's numerous other possibilities.