Media Volk Interview : "I Wanna See How Easily He Breaks When Things Don't Go To Plan”

[Morning Star]

I have a hard time seeing Volk giving Islam much of a fight. Size discrepancy is much too big.

 

[Judge Lance Ito]

This is just going to be like Max and Izzy moving up. Volk will realize he's in over his head and go back to FW

 

[moreorless87]

I know the point was the differece between Islam and Volk isn't profound enough for me to pick Islam not that I think Volk having a reach advantage really matters.

It potentially matters if he keeps the fight standing but just beating a larger Max isnt really proof for me that a size disadvantage against Islam is overcomable in the same way.

 

[Bilzerian]

I wanna see Volk looks really regretful after getting 1st round in grappling with Islam

 

[corrupted]

Volk seems genuinely confident but idk. This is likely one of those "there are weight classes for a reason" fights.

Very similar to the Doostin v Max fight. That power differential is real.

 

[brownsmith76]

I respect Volkanovski's skills, but I'm not sure about the size difference.

 

[Bobthebuilder85]

I want volks to win but I just don’t think he hits hard enough to punish Islam when the openings are there. Then it’s a question of if volks can keep Islam away for 25 mins

 

[Sasha]

I'm probably in the minority but I think Volk is going to be a hell of a challenge for Islam. The dude has no neck, one of the best standup in the game, incredible strength, ridiculous cardio and his heart can never be questioned.

He will leave no stones unturned and will probably spend all his days from now until the fight getting out from under his training partners -- he's that dedicated and insane. I hope people underestimate him so I can lay a big bet at great odds because I do feel this is 50/50.

This looks like a very hard challenge for him but I won't make the mistake of underestimating Volk again. Especially, I have zero doubt regarding his ability to move up in weight. The guy is elite, and his p4p #1 is one of the rare UFC ranking that's not nonsense.
Unlike adesanya, who, IIRC started as a favorite against Jan, showed that the challenge was too much ; I think Volk would start as a clear underdog, but I think he'd be able to pull an upset. Maybe it's just wishful thinking, I don't know.

 

[Guld]

I'm kinda getting Penn vs Hughes vibes from this matchup.
Maybe Volk by RNC? haha

 

[RoñaCastroJr]

LmAO I don't think your mind is the only thing that's gonna blow if you see that

 

[weaponzero2k2]

Some sparse Cliffs:

• Glad khabib and islam called him out in the cage.
• Happy that he got to experience a whole fight week with them and feel their presence in the arena/octagon.
• Says islam is a big strong wrestler, but he's been training with wrestlers bigger than him all of his life.
• In regards to Islam constantly calling him short, volk responds "you think the last 25 people I beat didn't think or say that? You're just saying something everyone else has said"
• He thinks Islam is kind of underestimating him in a sense because of the size difference, which might shock islam when they face off in the octagon becaus volk is going to be in front of him, making him uncomfortable on the feet, and then when he tries to grab volk, islam will realize volk isn't as weak as he thought, and all of this will start to break islam, and volk wants to see his face when that happens.
• He puts himself in the shittiest positions possible in camp. He won't be phased by what islam brings.
• Wants to see how islam reacts when the short man gets back up and punches him in the face.

What volk brings that other past opponents of Islam didn't bring:

• Volk is not going to stand in front of him. Nothing but respect to charles, but he's there to be hit. Volk is not.
• Islam will be trying to figure out a puzzle in front of him. The movement is going to be difficult, he'll try to grab a leg, but he has to be in the right position to feel comfortable enough to shoot, and he won't feel that straight away, and he'll become desperate.
• Islam hasn't faced anyone with the calculated footwork that volk has.
• Volk's confident in his ability to stuff takedowns and get back to his feet.
• Everyone thinks Volk is small and short, but within 10 seconds he sees his opponents looking uncomfortable and confused.
• Volk mentions "It's funny because they think they're the only guys that's just wrestled or something, as if we haven't been training wrestling...."

I love volk...but dude is getting submitted in rd 4....He just is too small...and Islam is strong

 

[Willie]

How tall is Volk ? I saw on fight metric he was listed at 5'6 which is just a bit smaller than Chandler, it's really not that bad but I think I heard him say he was was 5'3 which is frankly small.

 

[rjmbrd]

How tall is Volk ? I saw on fight metric he was listed at 5'6 which is just a bit smaller than Chandler, it's really not that bad but I think I heard him say he was was 5'3 which is frankly small.

He's a hair shorter than Aldo, around 5'6" is appropriate.

Also, Michael Chandler is absurdly thicker than Volk. It is a complete impossibility for Chandler to make a scale read 145lbs without going through a body transformation. Chandler wrestled 157lbs in college. They have similar height but are not similarly sized humans.

 

[JustBleed69]

Truth be told, amongst the current top contenders at LW, Volk might be the toughest fight for Islam just based on his skill alone.

We'll see how he's able to deal with the grappling, but on the feet he's ahead of Poirier, Justin, Chandler and Charles, so I'm hoping for a good fight.

I agree, it's just the size difference man.

Skill wise Volk is a TOUGH matchup for Islam, but he's just so small comparatively. Just thinking about Arman's last fight and what Islam did to him....going to be tough for Volk.

 

[User9992]

I agree, it's just the size difference man.

Skill wise Volk is a TOUGH matchup for Islam, but he's just so small comparatively. Just thinking about Arman's last fight and what Islam did to him....going to be tough for Volk.

His grappling is nowhere near Islam's level so I don't think he would have big chances even if he was the same size as Islam

 

[User9992]

Islam is already back in training after 10 days of rest

 

[User9992]

I respect Volkanovski's skills, but I'm not sure about the size difference.

Islam is much closer to the camera in this pic. Volk is shorter, but he is thic dude. He used to weight 215 pounds back in his rugby days.

 

[JustBleed69]

His grappling is nowhere near Islam's level so I don't think he would have big chances even if he was the same size as Islam

Volk has great distance management, great takedown defense, great get ups, great cardio, and way better striking than Islam.

He is a very tough matchup on paper if size was close to equal.

 

[chimpoehurricane]

Some sparse Cliffs:

• Glad khabib and islam called him out in the cage.
• Happy that he got to experience a whole fight week with them and feel their presence in the arena/octagon.
• Says islam is a big strong wrestler, but he's been training with wrestlers bigger than him all of his life.
• In regards to Islam constantly calling him short, volk responds "you think the last 25 people I beat didn't think or say that? You're just saying something everyone else has said"
• He thinks Islam is kind of underestimating him in a sense because of the size difference, which might shock islam when they face off in the octagon becaus volk is going to be in front of him, making him uncomfortable on the feet, and then when he tries to grab volk, islam will realize volk isn't as weak as he thought, and all of this will start to break islam, and volk wants to see his face when that happens.
• He puts himself in the shittiest positions possible in camp. He won't be phased by what islam brings.
• Wants to see how islam reacts when the short man gets back up and punches him in the face.

What volk brings that other past opponents of Islam didn't bring:

• Volk is not going to stand in front of him. Nothing but respect to charles, but he's there to be hit. Volk is not.
• Islam will be trying to figure out a puzzle in front of him. The movement is going to be difficult, he'll try to grab a leg, but he has to be in the right position to feel comfortable enough to shoot, and he won't feel that straight away, and he'll become desperate.
• Islam hasn't faced anyone with the calculated footwork that volk has.
• Volk's confident in his ability to stuff takedowns and get back to his feet.
• Everyone thinks Volk is small and short, but within 10 seconds he sees his opponents looking uncomfortable and confused.
• Volk mentions "It's funny because they think they're the only guys that's just wrestled or something, as if we haven't been training wrestling...."

I can't stand either tbh. Hope for a double ko.

 

[chimpoehurricane]

Islam is much closer to the camera in this pic. Volk is shorter, but he is thic dude. He used to weight 215 pounds back in his rugby days.

Islam looks a football taller. Calling out someone that much smaller in death valley in the lw division looks bad.