How many fights does Volk have left in him?

[Kb7]

Doesn't matter, once he loses he's out of his prime and it doesn't matter after that.

 

[FATM]

Probably 3-4 fights as prime Volkanovski and maybe another 4 more before he should retire.

 

[doggo]

The data set on aging midget fighters is clear.

I think he gets stopped by Yair in the first fight and then in the rematch.

But if he does get through Yair, he should immediately move up to LW. As he slows down, at least moving up offsets this a little because he will be fighting slightly slower guys.

Imo he should NOT strike with Yair, at all. His head it like at waist height for Yair and Volk has only been stopped by high kicks.

+ I am super fan of Volk and Yair is super fun to watch but comes across as a fuck face to me since that first Jeremy fight with the eye poke. Him being the one to finish Volk.....TWICE would ruin my day for sure.

IF he beats Yair....not sure what's next best thing really, LW guys are really big in the UFC so most fights would be super high risk low reward unless its VS the champ.

Topuria sounds like a great fight but he should fight someone else before getting a shot, there is a full 4 or 5 fighters that are an upper tier from Emmet. HE should have to fight either a T city or Kattar level first or go straight to Max.

 

[balkanbomber85]

27

 

[Kowboy On Sherdog]

Dude is a beast. But time isn't on his side. I would be surprised if he's still 145 champ in 3 years...

But no doubt going to be the #1b - 2 GOAT at 145...

 

[VAfan]

he still looks great, but then again the lighter weights are all about speed and speed is the first thing to go. the little guys fade earlier than the bigger guys, for sure.

 

[Tweak896]

That's because they don't make it to the top past the guys volk beat. Fortunately we're at a position where volk can fight two younger, fresh contender back to back with yair and topuria, and maybe evloev or allen will be in the title picture after that.

When there are guys like Whittaker and Max, the UFC can't just use them as a final filter. You're basically saying to be champ you have to beat prime Whittaker+Izzy or prime Max+Volk. That's an insane standard, you should basically be considered GOAT of that division to become champion after beating those 2.

 

[chinarice]

I think he has 6 or 7 left in him.

 

[Benoitthegr8]

Due to Volk’s insane work ethic I’d say he’s got a few more top of the food chain performances, that being said I’m not sure if moving upwards in weight, then immediately back down was a good idea. In terms of the speed difference it’s significant, that’s the first thing to go when aging out, I hope he didn’t hasten the process, I will be rooting for VOLK regardless.

 

[Sgt Smith]

Precisely 3.1415926535897932384626433832795028841971693993751058209749445923078164062862089986280348253421170679 fights left.

 

[TeenageMutantLesnarTurtle]

Maybe 3 high level fights before you start to see a visible decline. Not necessarily to the extent that he loses yet, but he will start to slow.

I think Max is already starting to burn out at 31 but for now hes good enough to still win most of the time. By 35 I think hes gonna be a sad sight tbh.

 

[RockyLockridge]

Idk man, it doesn't seem like he is slowing down. He improved his striking immensely plus he can be a point fighter if its needed. Volk has the correct tools to be fighting past 35 at the highest level plus he is extremely well conditioned, no known injuries.

It never seems like they are slowing down until they do.

Maybe 3 high level fights before you start to see a visible decline. Not necessarily to the extent that he loses yet, but he will start to slow.

I think Max is already starting to burn out at 31 but for now hes good enough to still win most of the time. By 35 I think hes gonna be a sad sight tbh.

good thing about Volk is, he's smart and he wants fights often. If he's wise over the next 2 years he wont sit around and wait. If he can maintain a consistent schedule, of 2-3 fights a year he can maximize his prime. But if he sits around and waits for super fights and all that...... Could be his undoing.

should he Beat Yair, he should target Topuria right away, Later this year in austrailia or vegas if possible. then aim for 3 fights in 2024

 

[Steve Fox]

It never seems like they are slowing down until they do.

Oh 100%. No doubt but Volk does come across as he is built differently.

 

[TheMMAnalyst]

Looked slower to me in the Islam fight. Of course he was way heavier than usual, which could be the reason.
Got hurt by some of Islam's punches, which didn't look like all that much.
In the lighter weight classes you are past prime at 35. Those guys are 5'6. Volk is 5'6

I see him having major problems against Yair and Topuria.

Definitely slower in the Islam fight due to the added weight - he was almost as heavy as Islam:

"Volk himself said he weighed around 172 on fight night. Islam usually weighs 175. But he was lighter (around 172-173) vs Volk, because he didn't have time to gain weight"

So he was the heaviest he'd been fighting at since 2017, definitely a significant change.

I wasn't shocked to see him get hurt by those punches, he got hit clean on the chin by some straight laser counters; the more surprising thing was Islam was able to bait him into opening up in the pocket and being able to time those counters, showed we under-rated Islam's striking abilities (just like we under-rated Volk's grappling).

I don't see the problems he'll run into agains Yair or Topuria being "age-related" - he isn't losing that much speed/strength/endurance, it's a pretty slow decline still (likely he's peaked but still holding). I honestly see Yair being a bigger problem at the moment - the biggest problem Max gave Volk in all 3 fights was in the 2nd fight mixing up combinations with kicking offense.

No one has more diverse striking or better kicking offense than Yair at the moment; however, he is so offense-oriented that he is there to be hit or taken down. Volk really needs to pressure inside kicking range early and stay there - if he gets stuck on the outside Yair is just going to spam a shitload of kicks that do damage no matter if you block them or not.

It's one of those fights where it's really important who starts the fight fast - I honestly think Yair is going to shock him with the kicking offense and it will force Volk to pressure and turn it into a brawl. Should be an epic fight!

 

[SeattleFightFan]

1 more fight against Ilia before he's 35 and should call it a career.

why should he?

why would he?

so far this post is the definition of 'opinions are like assholes'. don't be an asshole and at least try to defend your opinion.

 

[Pancake Sprawl]

i don't know but he's a speed fighter. when that goes, he'll probably fall off a cliff. he's not young either so times a tickin'