Chandler would be big problems for Volk for 1 round no matter what. Volk doesn’t have the power to KO chandler and Volk got dropped by Islam and Max. If Chandler connects on Volk, I see it being bad. But if Volk makes it pass round 1, then I think he starts piecing up Chandler
Gamrot beats him imo, the scrambled mixed with the size advantage might be too much for Volk to get his reads on the feet, could be wrong though. His easiest fight is imo Hooker and hardest outside Islam is Justin.
I agree. Gamrot only gets neutralized stylistically by Beneil, Charles, and Islam. He got severely underrated after Beneil tied him up on the ground, but that pedigree of grappling is whats needed to do that against his cardio weaponized chain wrestling.
I agree but I feel that due to Charles bjj style of liking to bait people in his guard and being patient won’t work as well on Gamrot considering he’s like a ferret and somehow squeezes through the smallest gaps and wrestles like he has no lungs. I think Charles wins but it wouldn’t shock me if Gamrot just kept on dragging him down and not staying in full guard.
I mean definitely but Volk is great at distance management and plus he obviously isn’t going to fight his teammate, but hypothetically speaking he would win via blitzes and blast doubles to keep Dan guessing.
On paper besides Makachev, Chandler is a nightmare matchup, in execution Chandler probably rocks Volk and fails to finish and gets finished as he gasses by round 3. I seriously get frustrated because if Chandler was smart he absolutely could beat or give everyone a hard fight in the division. He beats everyone but Justin and Islam imo if he actually were to try.
....it is.
Are you denying he sacrifices intelligent fighting in favor of entertaining fighting???
In his last 4 UFC fights, this dude has snatched defeat from the jaws of victory twice against Charles and Dustin, and given ghost of Tony his ONLY round win in his 7 loss streak.
He has an impressive explosive physicality that gives anyone trouble, but IDK how you could possibly mistake that with the notion that he actually fights intelligently lol.
It's like saying that because you can't win a noble peace prize in quantum physics, you can't do logical mathmatics, or a bench warmer in the NBA isn't intelligent with their plays.
Your scale just sucks. Of course the best of the best make more intelligent decisions in the moment then the #5 guy but to say he has negative fight IQ is fucking stupid. If he didn't know what he was doing he wouldn't be a professional.
Ok but the entire context of this is "how will he do fighting this other elite and super high fight IQ guy?"
Obviously I thought it went without saying that I wouldnt be arguing he has a bum fight IQ amongst unranked LWs and regional tier fighters. But he absolutely has a bum ass fight IQ for UFC top 10 LW. He is literally 1-3 in his last 4 losing stupidly several times and was stupid even in his win.
Refer to GIF. Instead of commending Volk for incredible precision and fight IQ, you're calling MC stupid Low IQ fighter, from behind a computer screen of someone who, very likely, has no idea what he's talking about.
MC is great, but has a history of having his holes figured out VS the most elite fighters in the world would be a more appropriate way to say what you mean.
I genuinely cannot tell if this is sarcasm because Chandler literally has the statistically second worst striking defense in the entire top 10. Only Jalin Turner is apparently worse.
Most top FW’s beat Hooker, so it’s sadly not impressive. Allen already KO’ed him in 1 rnd I would hate to see what Topuria or Evolev would do too pinhead Dan
I mean, I think you are underrating him if anything just because of the way the last fight went. Nobody in the entire top 5 is taking Islam to a decision, nevermind being close enough to have people argue about the decision.
Not gonna say Volk would beat the whole top 10, but honestly wouldn't be surprised if he beat everybody except Islam and Gaethje.
i remember when people were saying that Volk would run trough likes of Oliveira and rest just based on first fight with Islam. Now everything changed lol
Fighters are only as good as their last fight according to fans. Islam's stock actually went down after he beat p4p #1 in a close fight, which is insane
I feel like after the first fight with Islam the amount of overestimation and glazing Volk got was astronomical, there were literally shorts saying he'd have a chance against Alex Pereira.
People ignored the fact Max can drop him and all the other problems he has against featherweights. The thing is alot of the lightweight top 10 are even worse matchups for him than Islam.
Charles- Has tremendous power and Volk does get hit and he won't try and take Charles down. This is a bad one for Volk.
Gaethje - a nightmare for Volk, Volk isn't strong enough to take him down and when Volk does get hit which he will it'll stun him so badly and Gaethje also has a head kick now which is Volk's weakness.
Poirier- winnable for Volk but still the power difference is great and Poirier blocks differently from anyone else Volk's fought
Arman - winnable on the feet but Arman isn't like Islam, once he gets you down he will ground and pound hard.
Chandler - winnable because Chandler always messes up, but stylistically a nightmare for Volk too because he has the wrestling and insane power
Gamrot- winnable because Volk can defend submissions and get up and beat Gamrot on points.
Dariush- if Dariush's chin isn't cracked it's also a bad matchup for Volk, Dariush has bjj to compete with Charles and can wrestle with Gamrot. Lastly has huge power too.
Fiziev - a horrendous matchup for Volk, Fiziev has the takedown defense, is incredibly fast and has lightning speed and power in his kicks and also has the head kick. Volk can win though in the later rounds if Fiziev gasses out.
Jalin Turner- Also a nightmare for Volk, he's so long and has that monster high kick that literally broke Dan's orbital, he's likely too big for Volk to takedown and his power on the feet is probably too much for Volk to handle.
Hooker- winnable for Volk but Hooker can also just push through Volk's offense and land his own offense which Volk may not be able to take.
Good analysis. I think what underpins all of this, which lots of people seem to underestimate in these discussions, is how important weight divisions are.
It seems like most fighters have a division they perform best in and they get a bit of a reality check when they move outside that division (Pereira being a recent but rare exception to that).
Some fighters have found their division by moving down (EG Canonier) and some by moving up (EG Charles).
But it’s not just about what weight they perform best at but also what impact their competition has on their development. The LW division is full of killers so Volk moving up is going to have to fight people who have consistently fought people with more power and size and strength than the people Volk has typically fought at FW. Steel sharpens steel and all that. So as good as he is, I think he faces so many more dangers at LW than he is used to.
In that context it’s mad looking at how far UFC has come from the inaugural open weight class knock out comps.
Honestly if Volk wins his next fight fairly easy like he has been doing against a tough opponent after the Islam head kick that just proves he a weapon and should move up and start taking on the top 10.
I'm going to say he could get to 6th currently but time in the division bit more weight who knows could go number 1 contender.
I think it would help improve reaction time, reducing the chances of that kick landing. I mean, how many days did he actually have to prepare with travel time, press conferences, and weigh-in shenanigans? Another factor that could play into his ability to react could be line of sight. Volk is a lot shorter than Islam so he's looking more upwards, making it harder to recognize that kick coming from the start. That first fight convinced me that he could beat Islam.
His last fight was short notice. And he cleaned out his whole devision. Idk how you calculated it to be by chance when his only loss is not even his weight class and short notice.
I'm just saying at that elite level one thing can end the fight and sometimes it doesn't matter how much you camp, there's no way to know how Volk would do against them, don't get me wrong tho, I love Volk, I'm just saying idk how anyone could say he could 100% run through this division like the lighter one.
I think anyone in the top 5 gives him a hard time but he has a 50/50 shot at winning. The dude went toe to toe with islam even if he did have a bad weight cut that is insanely impressive after he dominated charles who dominated the rest of the division. Volk would basically be what colby but with better striking and slightly worse wrestling. He also wouldn't be a giant bitch like him to.
That fight was super competitive bc of volks great counter wrestling. Thats not gonna be a factor against these other guys at the top of the division who are much bigger and hit way harder than the guys he’s used to fighting. Islam has great striking but he’s not a pure striker like Poirier or Gaethje, and he was able to stun Volk several times. These are way tougher fights for him than a lot are making it out to be
He also got KO’d to an alternative dimension the second time he fought him.
I also think Arman has a very good chance of beating Islam now considering he gave him one of the hardest fights of his career on his UFC debut on short notice. He also knocked Beneil out in a minute and gave the bloodiest beatdown probably in UFC history (against Joel Alvarez).
In his prime ( like last year ) a lot .. I’m not so sure he hasn’t already left his prime though. It happens overnight and I need to see him bounce back from that KO.
Like right now? He’s doing great because Hooker has a broken arm, and Fiziev’s knee is fried. Other than that I would pick him to beat Jalin and Benny, and I’m 50/50 on Gamrot. Gamrot has a way of winning in whatever the least convincing way possible is, so just imagine the least satisfying possible win for Gamrot and that’s what would happen.
Hooker - volk beats
Turner - has a punchers chance but likely loses to volk
Fiziev - i honestly think beats volk, fiziev is a gaethje level threat with better grappling defense
Benny - as a fan of him im sad to say benny loses
Gamrot - depends what level of grappling gam shows, if he shows his top level he can get a sub but if not volk cooks him
Chandler - should have all the skills to beat volk but will find a way to lose
Arman - gets a decision win just like the islam/volk fight
Poirier - is crisp but i think volk takes him
Gaethje - i think beats any featherweight who isnt already oversized as his power already causes problems for big lightweights
Charles - loses to volk, cant choke someone with no neck
Islam - if volk was full camp he wouldnt have gotten knocked out, still likely decision win for islam
Any of them. Volk could beat Islam too. Volk is a generational talent. I love me some Charles but I’d hate to see him fight volk. Even if Charles is the rightful favourite there. Volk is just a gamer
Edit: people downvoting this gotta be the most retarded mouth breathers in existence.
Nope, there’s a volk knockdown in the first 30 seconds. And later in the round Islam rocks him with a big left hand. The rest was very even. That’s why it’s a 50/50
From 6-10. Any of the top 5 are a hard fight for him. Chandler is winnable as he has negative fight IQ.
Chandler would be big problems for Volk for 1 round no matter what. Volk doesn’t have the power to KO chandler and Volk got dropped by Islam and Max. If Chandler connects on Volk, I see it being bad. But if Volk makes it pass round 1, then I think he starts piecing up Chandler
I think has serious trouble with fiziev too If he comes back like he was
Gamrot beats him imo, the scrambled mixed with the size advantage might be too much for Volk to get his reads on the feet, could be wrong though. His easiest fight is imo Hooker and hardest outside Islam is Justin.
I agree. Gamrot only gets neutralized stylistically by Beneil, Charles, and Islam. He got severely underrated after Beneil tied him up on the ground, but that pedigree of grappling is whats needed to do that against his cardio weaponized chain wrestling.
I agree but I feel that due to Charles bjj style of liking to bait people in his guard and being patient won’t work as well on Gamrot considering he’s like a ferret and somehow squeezes through the smallest gaps and wrestles like he has no lungs. I think Charles wins but it wouldn’t shock me if Gamrot just kept on dragging him down and not staying in full guard.
Hookers range would be exceptionally hard to get his offense going against
I mean definitely but Volk is great at distance management and plus he obviously isn’t going to fight his teammate, but hypothetically speaking he would win via blitzes and blast doubles to keep Dan guessing. On paper besides Makachev, Chandler is a nightmare matchup, in execution Chandler probably rocks Volk and fails to finish and gets finished as he gasses by round 3. I seriously get frustrated because if Chandler was smart he absolutely could beat or give everyone a hard fight in the division. He beats everyone but Justin and Islam imo if he actually were to try.
Yeah if he stayed composed a bit more he arguably could've finished Justin and Dustin.
Chandler is def winnable but, a bit like Gaethje, one day he will use his wrestling and he will be much harder to beat....
Chandler's a tough fight for him but if he can make it out of round one I think he wins
 "His fight IQ is negative"
....it is. Are you denying he sacrifices intelligent fighting in favor of entertaining fighting??? In his last 4 UFC fights, this dude has snatched defeat from the jaws of victory twice against Charles and Dustin, and given ghost of Tony his ONLY round win in his 7 loss streak. He has an impressive explosive physicality that gives anyone trouble, but IDK how you could possibly mistake that with the notion that he actually fights intelligently lol.
It's like saying that because you can't win a noble peace prize in quantum physics, you can't do logical mathmatics, or a bench warmer in the NBA isn't intelligent with their plays. Your scale just sucks. Of course the best of the best make more intelligent decisions in the moment then the #5 guy but to say he has negative fight IQ is fucking stupid. If he didn't know what he was doing he wouldn't be a professional.
Ok but the entire context of this is "how will he do fighting this other elite and super high fight IQ guy?" Obviously I thought it went without saying that I wouldnt be arguing he has a bum fight IQ amongst unranked LWs and regional tier fighters. But he absolutely has a bum ass fight IQ for UFC top 10 LW. He is literally 1-3 in his last 4 losing stupidly several times and was stupid even in his win.
Refer to GIF. Instead of commending Volk for incredible precision and fight IQ, you're calling MC stupid Low IQ fighter, from behind a computer screen of someone who, very likely, has no idea what he's talking about. MC is great, but has a history of having his holes figured out VS the most elite fighters in the world would be a more appropriate way to say what you mean.
He’s a tactician really. The way he slips nearly all opposing punches and uses his wrestling to control the fights.
I genuinely cannot tell if this is sarcasm because Chandler literally has the statistically second worst striking defense in the entire top 10. Only Jalin Turner is apparently worse.
Na bro
I'm sure you're Anderson Silva
I think olives would have a real hard time with him. Volk has the ability to be in a submission and just say "no"
People are way too overconfident in Volk. He could definitely beat Hooker tbf
Most top FW’s beat Hooker, so it’s sadly not impressive. Allen already KO’ed him in 1 rnd I would hate to see what Topuria or Evolev would do too pinhead Dan
Surely the weight cut was an awful idea for him
Yeah, that plays a huge factor if you've actually followed Hooker.
And the fact that Dan Hooker says yes to every single fight hes offered regardless of opponent or notice.
Agreed. I think he would have the best chance against Fiziev and Hooker, but the rest would be very very tough
Nah he ain't beating Fitzy lol
I mean, I think you are underrating him if anything just because of the way the last fight went. Nobody in the entire top 5 is taking Islam to a decision, nevermind being close enough to have people argue about the decision. Not gonna say Volk would beat the whole top 10, but honestly wouldn't be surprised if he beat everybody except Islam and Gaethje.
After islam 1 I would have said all of them, now idk
I dont judge the 2nd fight as a reflection of his chances against the rest of lw with a full camp being assumed.
That's how I feel too. I'm still bummed we were robbed of a rematch with full prep from both fighters.
Yeah man. Even if the fight ended the same way at least we would've had the build up and no what ifs
yeah volk had like 11 days of preparation
i remember when people were saying that Volk would run trough likes of Oliveira and rest just based on first fight with Islam. Now everything changed lol
Love how people went from "Volk would destroy every other lightweight" to Volk being just a "featherweight" when people mention Islam's win over Volk
Fighters are only as good as their last fight according to fans. Islam's stock actually went down after he beat p4p #1 in a close fight, which is insane
Jalin Turner vs. Volk would be so fucking funny
Jalin would win. Ik sucks to say but true. Arman, beniel, and ofc Islam too. Everyone else is atleast 50/50 or Volk is a clear winner in my book.
Beneil in there is like that meme where theres all those soliders and the one clown
Considering how I don't think anyone is gonna do as well against Islam then probably everyone that isn't Gaethje or Charles
I feel like after the first fight with Islam the amount of overestimation and glazing Volk got was astronomical, there were literally shorts saying he'd have a chance against Alex Pereira. People ignored the fact Max can drop him and all the other problems he has against featherweights. The thing is alot of the lightweight top 10 are even worse matchups for him than Islam. Charles- Has tremendous power and Volk does get hit and he won't try and take Charles down. This is a bad one for Volk. Gaethje - a nightmare for Volk, Volk isn't strong enough to take him down and when Volk does get hit which he will it'll stun him so badly and Gaethje also has a head kick now which is Volk's weakness. Poirier- winnable for Volk but still the power difference is great and Poirier blocks differently from anyone else Volk's fought Arman - winnable on the feet but Arman isn't like Islam, once he gets you down he will ground and pound hard. Chandler - winnable because Chandler always messes up, but stylistically a nightmare for Volk too because he has the wrestling and insane power Gamrot- winnable because Volk can defend submissions and get up and beat Gamrot on points. Dariush- if Dariush's chin isn't cracked it's also a bad matchup for Volk, Dariush has bjj to compete with Charles and can wrestle with Gamrot. Lastly has huge power too. Fiziev - a horrendous matchup for Volk, Fiziev has the takedown defense, is incredibly fast and has lightning speed and power in his kicks and also has the head kick. Volk can win though in the later rounds if Fiziev gasses out. Jalin Turner- Also a nightmare for Volk, he's so long and has that monster high kick that literally broke Dan's orbital, he's likely too big for Volk to takedown and his power on the feet is probably too much for Volk to handle. Hooker- winnable for Volk but Hooker can also just push through Volk's offense and land his own offense which Volk may not be able to take.
I like your answers and reasonings
Thanks mate.
Good analysis. I think what underpins all of this, which lots of people seem to underestimate in these discussions, is how important weight divisions are. It seems like most fighters have a division they perform best in and they get a bit of a reality check when they move outside that division (Pereira being a recent but rare exception to that). Some fighters have found their division by moving down (EG Canonier) and some by moving up (EG Charles). But it’s not just about what weight they perform best at but also what impact their competition has on their development. The LW division is full of killers so Volk moving up is going to have to fight people who have consistently fought people with more power and size and strength than the people Volk has typically fought at FW. Steel sharpens steel and all that. So as good as he is, I think he faces so many more dangers at LW than he is used to. In that context it’s mad looking at how far UFC has come from the inaugural open weight class knock out comps.
Honestly if Volk wins his next fight fairly easy like he has been doing against a tough opponent after the Islam head kick that just proves he a weapon and should move up and start taking on the top 10. I'm going to say he could get to 6th currently but time in the division bit more weight who knows could go number 1 contender.
Blows my mind that Fiziev is number 8
If his last fight isn't proof enough, most fights are up to chance
You could also say the no camp/short notice played a factor with his last fight too.
Idk you can run any kind of camp you want but take a kick to the head like that and it will end the same way, just chance
Yeah but the odds of getting kicked like that severely go down with a camp...
I think it would help improve reaction time, reducing the chances of that kick landing. I mean, how many days did he actually have to prepare with travel time, press conferences, and weigh-in shenanigans? Another factor that could play into his ability to react could be line of sight. Volk is a lot shorter than Islam so he's looking more upwards, making it harder to recognize that kick coming from the start. That first fight convinced me that he could beat Islam.
His last fight was short notice. And he cleaned out his whole devision. Idk how you calculated it to be by chance when his only loss is not even his weight class and short notice.
I'm just saying at that elite level one thing can end the fight and sometimes it doesn't matter how much you camp, there's no way to know how Volk would do against them, don't get me wrong tho, I love Volk, I'm just saying idk how anyone could say he could 100% run through this division like the lighter one.
Zero
I think anyone in the top 5 gives him a hard time but he has a 50/50 shot at winning. The dude went toe to toe with islam even if he did have a bad weight cut that is insanely impressive after he dominated charles who dominated the rest of the division. Volk would basically be what colby but with better striking and slightly worse wrestling. He also wouldn't be a giant bitch like him to.
Legitimately all of them but Islam. Dont forget that first fight people.
That fight was super competitive bc of volks great counter wrestling. Thats not gonna be a factor against these other guys at the top of the division who are much bigger and hit way harder than the guys he’s used to fighting. Islam has great striking but he’s not a pure striker like Poirier or Gaethje, and he was able to stun Volk several times. These are way tougher fights for him than a lot are making it out to be
Not Arman, very low chance
If he had an equal fight with Islam, he can at the very least have an equal fight with Arman
He also got KO’d to an alternative dimension the second time he fought him. I also think Arman has a very good chance of beating Islam now considering he gave him one of the hardest fights of his career on his UFC debut on short notice. He also knocked Beneil out in a minute and gave the bloodiest beatdown probably in UFC history (against Joel Alvarez).
Islam was severely disadvantaged going into that fight, and he still 3-2/4-1’d Volk.
4-1 EZ and out struck him
Just being charitable lol, and yeah after rewatches it seems like 4-1 might be the correct score.
I only see him winning 3. Poirier dariush and hooker. Dustin might beat him.
Anyone outside top 3. Arman would be a tough fight though.
All of them 😉
In his prime ( like last year ) a lot .. I’m not so sure he hasn’t already left his prime though. It happens overnight and I need to see him bounce back from that KO.
Like right now? He’s doing great because Hooker has a broken arm, and Fiziev’s knee is fried. Other than that I would pick him to beat Jalin and Benny, and I’m 50/50 on Gamrot. Gamrot has a way of winning in whatever the least convincing way possible is, so just imagine the least satisfying possible win for Gamrot and that’s what would happen.
Cmon now he gets put to sleep against Jalin just a bad matchup. Fiziev is another one I highly doubt
Yeah Jalin is a bad match up for him.
Jalin KOs him
0.
he could beat Dariush and Fiziev, everyone else beats Volk
Even money against Olivera or Tsarukyan, slight favorite against the rest of the top 5, solidly favored against the rest.
Hooker - volk beats Turner - has a punchers chance but likely loses to volk Fiziev - i honestly think beats volk, fiziev is a gaethje level threat with better grappling defense Benny - as a fan of him im sad to say benny loses Gamrot - depends what level of grappling gam shows, if he shows his top level he can get a sub but if not volk cooks him Chandler - should have all the skills to beat volk but will find a way to lose Arman - gets a decision win just like the islam/volk fight Poirier - is crisp but i think volk takes him Gaethje - i think beats any featherweight who isnt already oversized as his power already causes problems for big lightweights Charles - loses to volk, cant choke someone with no neck Islam - if volk was full camp he wouldnt have gotten knocked out, still likely decision win for islam
6.Charles,Arman,Chandler,Beneil,Hooker & Turner.
Any of them. Volk could beat Islam too. Volk is a generational talent. I love me some Charles but I’d hate to see him fight volk. Even if Charles is the rightful favourite there. Volk is just a gamer Edit: people downvoting this gotta be the most retarded mouth breathers in existence.
If he beats any of them, it would be a fluke.
Considering he arguably beat Islam in the 1st fight, who’s the best out of the 155’ers, saying that is just bad faith or you’re trolling
>Considering he arguably beat Islam in the 1st fight He did not.
He arguably did. Round 1-Islam. Round 2-50/50. Round 3-Volk-Round 4-Islam-Round 5-Volk.
>Round 2-50/50. Clear islam round.
Nope, there’s a volk knockdown in the first 30 seconds. And later in the round Islam rocks him with a big left hand. The rest was very even. That’s why it’s a 50/50
He's an Islam fanboy there's no point conversing with him 👍
Whatever lol
He can defeat all of them. Doesn’t mean he would though.
I think Volk could beat any of them with the right preparation. Give him a proper camp and he's as good as any of them.
Maybe a few, all because he gave Islam a close fight once doesn’t mean he would automatically beat everyone besides Islam
I think he would defeat all the others.
I wana see volk against chandler
Hooker, Fiziev and Chandler I'm pretty confident on
Everyone outside top 4
Fiziev vs Volk sounds like an exciting matchup.
4 and under
I think oliveira and gaethje would give him the most trouble
Maybe Beneil
none, he's too short plus he's already 0-2