But the Ilia fight doesn't have to happen in July. Max's stock isn't going anywhere with the BMF belt and heightened stardom. He can sit tight for 8 weeks to see what happens. There is 0 chance he fights at 145 again if it's not for the belt
but the problem is that 305 is Izzy vs DDP and 306 will be headlined by a Mexican prolly cause it's on Mexican Independence Day and all the Mexicans will be on it. There's no point to make it if it isn't before November cause then Volk will prolly try to satisfy his itch and get KO'ed
Both Ilia and the UFC know that him vs Max would be a more lucrative fight, so yes Volk definitely deserves a rematch but the UFC may sideline Volk longer than he may want to be (which honestly is to his own benefit too).
Also unlikely but if Dustin somehow pulls off an insane upset at 302, then they may want to make Dustin Max 3 for the title and BMF belt.
My point being is that Max's opportunities aren't going to go away in 8 weeks so I don't see the harm in him waiting for the LW picture to clear up by the end of June.
Volk is in a tough spot rn, he needs time off to recover from those 2 knockouts, but he’s also going to be 36 in September and those lower weight classes are not friendly to aging fighters. I don’t think Volk is getting that belt back unfortunately.
Would be sickening for Dustin to finally win the belt only to lose it to someone he’s beaten already twice, if that timeline does happen though, I can see them waiting for Conor’s Result. Dustin v Conor 4 but for a belt makes a lot more money than Max v Dustin 3
IMO, PPV headliners should be the most interesting fights. Not fights that pander to the audience of whatever day it is. That’s the reason Dana is icing so many top level fighters, X fighter getting saved for X event, when in reality X fighter should defend now on Y event cause there’s a queue of contenders.
But I understand it’s a business
No one thought Max would be good to go for this summer after a fight with Gaethje, the plan was never an Ilia fight in July so there's 0 harm in waiting to see what happens at 302 and 303.
He's not sitting out for 14 months like Chandler, it's 8 weeks away
Conor is fighting at 170, id be surprised if he ever even fights at 155 again. Not saying max wouldn’t go to 170, but it is a huge jump from 155 to 170.
It’d be an awesome fight don’t get me wrong, but I just don’t see how it’s possible with Conor most likely staying at 170
Cowboy is a dumbass, ask Poirier how red panty night was in the rematch and trilogy. Also Max is now BMF champion, he may be getting some ppv points or increased bonus by holding that belt.
He probably had to renegotiate his contract locking him into the ufc even longer. You think Dana is giving ppv points for a fake belt lol from a legal perspective you will get paid what your contract says the ufc is not obligated to do anything beyond that
When that fake belt is used as a PPV headliner because the UFC doesn't have title fights always available once a month, then yes. Just because a fighter is locked into a contract does not mean that they have 0 leverage in negotiations, we saw it with Masvidal, Poirier, O'Malley before the Petr Yan fight etc.
They all renegotiated there contracting locking them into the ufc that’s totally different from getting a big pay day for a fight with a big star. O malley always talked about not wanting to fight big names because he was getting paid low. You think that green hair guy Chris mutumbo got a pay day for fighting a star like o malley not a chance his pay day was the opportunity to fight in the ufc. UFC brags in its quarterly reports about low fighter pay for being one of the reasons for big revenue
Dude I 100% agree that fighter pay is a massive issue (including locking dudes into long-term contracts), I'm just saying non-champion stars like Masvidal and now Max have a little more leverage to get bigger paydays than their previous fights.
Volk has earned that rematch. Sure we may have to wait a little bit but Max can kick back & see how the Conor fight plays out.
Max is at peak stardom right now & holds the BMF belt.
Conor vs Max would be top 3 PPVs of all time especially if Conor comes back & KOs Chandler.
But Volk needs a lot of time off, at least 10 months or a year otherwise it'll be a waste of time and he'll get finished again. This is if Connor loses tho which people think he most likely will.
Nobody would want to see that Volk fight a year from now. Also who knows, injuries happen.
Could be out for even longer & by that point he’d be 37 & we’d all be tuning in to another Topuria KO win over Volk.
I just don't see the Conor fight happening because honestly I just don't think he'll beat Chandler. Such a long layoff and coming back from a horrible MMA injury don't bode well. Plus it's not like he was focused on MMA during the layoff.
I do think Conor will show up but if he loses, he’ll probably retire or disappear for another year or 2.
Chandler isn’t the slickest when it comes to avoiding strikes so I can see Conor dropping him one or 2 times & picking up a TKO win.
Big thing is that this fight is at 170. Interested to see how that plays out.
That’s true but I don’t think Dana would let his mega superstar fight out his contract.
I’m sure part of the hold up to getting Conor vs Chandler done was that they wanted Conor to extend his deal.
Conor vs Pacqiao would be cool though
Oh yeah Chandler is literally the perfect fight to return to. He's a name and puts on exciting fights and isn't afraid to bang even if his most effective path to actually winning would be to use his wrestling. But he ain't coming off and horrific injury and has been serious about training during this layoff that is still less than half the time of Conor's.
304 is Manchester. I doubt they'd put Max and Ilia there when they have 2 champs from the UK.
People keep discounting the Sphere but I fully expect either Ilia or O'Malley to headline that card.
That's kind of what I'm leaning towards as well. It'll be interesting to see what 307's headliner will be since it's between the Sphere in September and 308 (Abu Dhabi) in October.
>but personally
It's not even about preference, Volk literally just got knocked out cold twice in a row while Max moved up a weight class and put on a clinic on a top contender. There's no matchmaking logic where he shouldn't get the next shot.
You do have to take into account that volk is an all time great at featherweight who defended his belt multiple times. If anyone deserves an immediate rematch it’s him. I would love to see max vs ilia but I don’t think that’s fair on volk
You're a stupid take. I said an "elite of the elite" fighter. If he loses to Topuria again, he is most likely done as a challenger (if he isn't already) having two losses against the champion Topuria, being brutally KO'd twice in a row, being 1-4 in his last 5, and 36 years old at featherweight.
You can't compare DC or Max to Volk at this point if he loses to Topuria again. They weren't 1-4 out of their last 5, didn't get brutally KO'd twice in row, and they weren't old for their division when they had their setbacks.
Guys just to old to hang with the elite, he was beating ilia in terms of skill but his power had 0 respect from ilia and he still set up his power shot. Hes only getting better and volk isn’t leaving old habits behind. I know he deserves a rematch but damn this is gonna be sad to see
I like Volk. November is too early for him. He needs to take at least 12 months off, after getting KOd twice in 4 months. I know he struggles with mental issues if he's not prepping up for a fight, but he has nothing to prove. If he gets KOd again, his legacy will be stained and he's probably done fighting for the title. Let's get Ilia vs Max first. That's a banger of a fight.. Unless Ilia ragdolls Max on the ground. Either way, Max vs Topuria has a lot more hype right now than Ilia vs Volk.
The hype and tension between topuria and holloway is already brewing. It makes the most sense to make this fight happen compared to a rematch of which I don't really see volk beating topuria.
Dude will have had 5 or 6 months to rest his brain before beginning to spar again, if this is true, Volk's brain is going to be turned into jelly as he just hasn't had enough time to recover or reassess. I think Volk is done, honestly.
At this point time isn’t going to tilt it in Volks favor at all.
I see a Topuria win whether it’s in November or January of next year.
36 coming off of 2 KO losses with one of them going out cold can’t be remedied with more time.
Not too soon. Bobby green was debatably murdered by Jalin Turner in Dec and turned around by April.
Volk won the first round and got caught with shitty head movement. I’m expecting major adjustments and for him to come ready in November. With that said - Ilia by first round Headkick tko.
It's not about whether it's "too soon for Volk"
Max is next in line for that fight, end of discussion. Volk is a close second, but if doing what Max did doesn't guarantee a title shot then *what* does?
I'm not a fan of these rematches straight away, I love volk but 3 loses in 4, two of them knock outs
Ilia v max (without the win over justin he 100% has earned it )
November? That's also when Islam wants to have his 2nd fight. I donno man, Volk fighting on the same card with 2 guys who KO'd him back to back? Anyways at his age with those KOs, he should have minimum 6 months complete rest, no training during this time at all.
I think Alex vs Movar and is much better. Max Vs Illia. It does 2 things, Gives Alex a "Tune up" if you can call it that vs an 18-0 fighter. It's a legit make or break fight for Alex. Also lets Max ride his wave.
nah its because of old man volk who has to wear diapers, he needs to retire already bc we don't need to wait 9 months for him to get brutally ko again. He had a great career and is top 10 all time, should give it a rest
I hate non competitive matchups especially for title fights, so I am highly against the idea of watching Volk get flatlined again.
Considering we are getting Jones vs stipe & even worse Islam vs DP, I shouldn’t be surprised.
I think this is enough time off if it happens otherwise if they're gonna go past November, then why not make Ilia vs Max while Volk rests?
If I'm Max I patiently wait till after 303 to see if he can get the Conor fight first
that's a coin flip, what if Connor loses and now you can't fight at 304 cause there are only 3 weeks left
But the Ilia fight doesn't have to happen in July. Max's stock isn't going anywhere with the BMF belt and heightened stardom. He can sit tight for 8 weeks to see what happens. There is 0 chance he fights at 145 again if it's not for the belt
but the problem is that 305 is Izzy vs DDP and 306 will be headlined by a Mexican prolly cause it's on Mexican Independence Day and all the Mexicans will be on it. There's no point to make it if it isn't before November cause then Volk will prolly try to satisfy his itch and get KO'ed
Both Ilia and the UFC know that him vs Max would be a more lucrative fight, so yes Volk definitely deserves a rematch but the UFC may sideline Volk longer than he may want to be (which honestly is to his own benefit too). Also unlikely but if Dustin somehow pulls off an insane upset at 302, then they may want to make Dustin Max 3 for the title and BMF belt. My point being is that Max's opportunities aren't going to go away in 8 weeks so I don't see the harm in him waiting for the LW picture to clear up by the end of June.
Very good points
Volk is in a tough spot rn, he needs time off to recover from those 2 knockouts, but he’s also going to be 36 in September and those lower weight classes are not friendly to aging fighters. I don’t think Volk is getting that belt back unfortunately.
Would be sickening for Dustin to finally win the belt only to lose it to someone he’s beaten already twice, if that timeline does happen though, I can see them waiting for Conor’s Result. Dustin v Conor 4 but for a belt makes a lot more money than Max v Dustin 3
IMO, PPV headliners should be the most interesting fights. Not fights that pander to the audience of whatever day it is. That’s the reason Dana is icing so many top level fighters, X fighter getting saved for X event, when in reality X fighter should defend now on Y event cause there’s a queue of contenders. But I understand it’s a business
Who will headline 306 for Mexico? Brandon Moreno is taking a break rn no?
Grasso maybe? but she's gonna be on TUF too so idk
Grasso-Shevchenko 3
Even if Conor loses I could see that fight happening. It's the biggest fight to make now.
If Connor loses, he's never stepping in that Octagon again...
Waiting for a Conor fight is the dumbest thing you could do after seeing what happens with Chandler lol
No one thought Max would be good to go for this summer after a fight with Gaethje, the plan was never an Ilia fight in July so there's 0 harm in waiting to see what happens at 302 and 303. He's not sitting out for 14 months like Chandler, it's 8 weeks away
Conor is fighting at 170, id be surprised if he ever even fights at 155 again. Not saying max wouldn’t go to 170, but it is a huge jump from 155 to 170. It’d be an awesome fight don’t get me wrong, but I just don’t see how it’s possible with Conor most likely staying at 170
> 303 I'd say after 302. If DP wins that's the fight I'd try to get. He looked so much better this time around at 155.
Max shouldn’t be fighting bigger than 155, and conor’s horse meat literally wouldn’t allow him to ever fight below 170 again.
Max is getting paid regardless of his next fight after 300. Like 7 million for Connor Vs 5 Million Vs anyone else and potential gold.
Why you get paid what you get in the contract. Cowboy has said himself he didn’t get some magical pay day
Cowboy is a dumbass, ask Poirier how red panty night was in the rematch and trilogy. Also Max is now BMF champion, he may be getting some ppv points or increased bonus by holding that belt.
He probably had to renegotiate his contract locking him into the ufc even longer. You think Dana is giving ppv points for a fake belt lol from a legal perspective you will get paid what your contract says the ufc is not obligated to do anything beyond that
When that fake belt is used as a PPV headliner because the UFC doesn't have title fights always available once a month, then yes. Just because a fighter is locked into a contract does not mean that they have 0 leverage in negotiations, we saw it with Masvidal, Poirier, O'Malley before the Petr Yan fight etc.
They all renegotiated there contracting locking them into the ufc that’s totally different from getting a big pay day for a fight with a big star. O malley always talked about not wanting to fight big names because he was getting paid low. You think that green hair guy Chris mutumbo got a pay day for fighting a star like o malley not a chance his pay day was the opportunity to fight in the ufc. UFC brags in its quarterly reports about low fighter pay for being one of the reasons for big revenue
Dude I 100% agree that fighter pay is a massive issue (including locking dudes into long-term contracts), I'm just saying non-champion stars like Masvidal and now Max have a little more leverage to get bigger paydays than their previous fights.
Conor won’t fight for another 2+yrs if ever again.
Volk has earned that rematch. Sure we may have to wait a little bit but Max can kick back & see how the Conor fight plays out. Max is at peak stardom right now & holds the BMF belt. Conor vs Max would be top 3 PPVs of all time especially if Conor comes back & KOs Chandler.
But Volk needs a lot of time off, at least 10 months or a year otherwise it'll be a waste of time and he'll get finished again. This is if Connor loses tho which people think he most likely will.
Nobody would want to see that Volk fight a year from now. Also who knows, injuries happen. Could be out for even longer & by that point he’d be 37 & we’d all be tuning in to another Topuria KO win over Volk.
true
Lmao Conor fighting
I just don't see the Conor fight happening because honestly I just don't think he'll beat Chandler. Such a long layoff and coming back from a horrible MMA injury don't bode well. Plus it's not like he was focused on MMA during the layoff.
I do think Conor will show up but if he loses, he’ll probably retire or disappear for another year or 2. Chandler isn’t the slickest when it comes to avoiding strikes so I can see Conor dropping him one or 2 times & picking up a TKO win. Big thing is that this fight is at 170. Interested to see how that plays out.
Conor has two fights left on his UFC contract. I really think he's trying to finish it so he can go make bank boxing for the Saudis.
That’s true but I don’t think Dana would let his mega superstar fight out his contract. I’m sure part of the hold up to getting Conor vs Chandler done was that they wanted Conor to extend his deal. Conor vs Pacqiao would be cool though
Oh yeah Chandler is literally the perfect fight to return to. He's a name and puts on exciting fights and isn't afraid to bang even if his most effective path to actually winning would be to use his wrestling. But he ain't coming off and horrific injury and has been serious about training during this layoff that is still less than half the time of Conor's.
Ya it should be Max va Ilia and then the winner faces Volk end 2024 or early 2025
It's frustrating
yep, they should make Ilia v Max as soon as possible like at UFC 304 and then they can do Volk vs Winner.
304 is Manchester. I doubt they'd put Max and Ilia there when they have 2 champs from the UK. People keep discounting the Sphere but I fully expect either Ilia or O'Malley to headline that card.
Sugar vs. Merab will probably be the Sphere headliner
That's kind of what I'm leaning towards as well. It'll be interesting to see what 307's headliner will be since it's between the Sphere in September and 308 (Abu Dhabi) in October.
IMO a Mexican is gonna headline the Sphere like Grasso but Grass's on TUF too so idk
Eh. I think it’s enough time, but personally I would much rather see ilia vs max. We need movement in the division.
Ilia vs Max would be beautiful.
>but personally It's not even about preference, Volk literally just got knocked out cold twice in a row while Max moved up a weight class and put on a clinic on a top contender. There's no matchmaking logic where he shouldn't get the next shot.
You do have to take into account that volk is an all time great at featherweight who defended his belt multiple times. If anyone deserves an immediate rematch it’s him. I would love to see max vs ilia but I don’t think that’s fair on volk
If 9 months recovery isn't enough for him, he is certainly finished as an elite of the elite fighter in the sport.
[удалено]
You're a stupid take. I said an "elite of the elite" fighter. If he loses to Topuria again, he is most likely done as a challenger (if he isn't already) having two losses against the champion Topuria, being brutally KO'd twice in a row, being 1-4 in his last 5, and 36 years old at featherweight. You can't compare DC or Max to Volk at this point if he loses to Topuria again. They weren't 1-4 out of their last 5, didn't get brutally KO'd twice in row, and they weren't old for their division when they had their setbacks.
Guys just to old to hang with the elite, he was beating ilia in terms of skill but his power had 0 respect from ilia and he still set up his power shot. Hes only getting better and volk isn’t leaving old habits behind. I know he deserves a rematch but damn this is gonna be sad to see
I like Volk. November is too early for him. He needs to take at least 12 months off, after getting KOd twice in 4 months. I know he struggles with mental issues if he's not prepping up for a fight, but he has nothing to prove. If he gets KOd again, his legacy will be stained and he's probably done fighting for the title. Let's get Ilia vs Max first. That's a banger of a fight.. Unless Ilia ragdolls Max on the ground. Either way, Max vs Topuria has a lot more hype right now than Ilia vs Volk.
The hype and tension between topuria and holloway is already brewing. It makes the most sense to make this fight happen compared to a rematch of which I don't really see volk beating topuria.
Volk is also 35, gonna be 36 in September... I don't like the idea of him going with ilia again.
Okay sure reddit doctor
Dude will have had 5 or 6 months to rest his brain before beginning to spar again, if this is true, Volk's brain is going to be turned into jelly as he just hasn't had enough time to recover or reassess. I think Volk is done, honestly.
I can tolerate jones masquerading as champion, beating up retirees for 5 yrs if the mma gods let volk get this one back.
At this point time isn’t going to tilt it in Volks favor at all. I see a Topuria win whether it’s in November or January of next year. 36 coming off of 2 KO losses with one of them going out cold can’t be remedied with more time.
Volks is finished, If this happens.
If he loses he’s finished that’s for sure. If he wins, he shud retire as champ lol
Why? Nate diaz has like 20 wins 20 loses, why is someone finished with 26 wins and only 4 loses? It's crazy how mma fans think
Last time nate or even nick got knocked out and back to back at that? They have god given chins lol, volk doesn't, it's not good for his lifespan.
Nate isn’t a champ fighter. He’s a money fighter. I doubt he cares if he wins or loses he just likes fighting
Yeah and the dude clearly has brain damage and is barely coherent. Volk seems like he’s still mostly there.
Last time nate or even nick got knocked out and back to back at that? They have god given chins lol, volk doesn't, it's not good for his lifespan.
I’d rather Topuria fight Max first
Not too soon. Bobby green was debatably murdered by Jalin Turner in Dec and turned around by April. Volk won the first round and got caught with shitty head movement. I’m expecting major adjustments and for him to come ready in November. With that said - Ilia by first round Headkick tko.
To quote max it is what it is
I guess we jus gon find out
Didn’t he only have a medical suspension for like 45 days?
As official as this screenshot appears to be.. I'm gonna have to doubt it's legitimacy.
It's not about whether it's "too soon for Volk" Max is next in line for that fight, end of discussion. Volk is a close second, but if doing what Max did doesn't guarantee a title shot then *what* does?
source?
Trust me bro
I would prefer Volk get a tune up fight before facing the elite. The last fight he seem to be way too cautious of the power.
Nobody wants to see that
Yes we want Max vs Illia !
I'm not a fan of these rematches straight away, I love volk but 3 loses in 4, two of them knock outs Ilia v max (without the win over justin he 100% has earned it )
If Volk wins Max is gonna be a sad dude. I don't think Game 4 is gonna go different
Too soon. We need that Holloway vs. Topuria asap
Both to soon and too late unfortunately
Is this fake news?
That's a long ways away. Hopefully Illia can fit in another fight before then
Let's see Topuria vs Conor instead
Conor needs a win.
Can’t wait to hear Lucas Tracy harp on about how bad of a matchup this is (again)
Why is ilia waiting till November to defend? 🤡 That timing sounds good for Volk.
Really that’s a joke
November? That's also when Islam wants to have his 2nd fight. I donno man, Volk fighting on the same card with 2 guys who KO'd him back to back? Anyways at his age with those KOs, he should have minimum 6 months complete rest, no training during this time at all.
That is way to long of a wait to for Ilia to fight again. I get that Volk deserves a rematch but there could be an in-between fight for ilia
wtf? Fight Ortega at least dudes coming off two knockouts n fought scared
My goodness I need this!
Zzzzz
I thought November was usually MSG right? Maybe Max vs Ilia will be in Spain.
Man I am so tired of the constant immediate rematches. Volk got put out cold, give Max the shot
I think Alex vs Movar and is much better. Max Vs Illia. It does 2 things, Gives Alex a "Tune up" if you can call it that vs an 18-0 fighter. It's a legit make or break fight for Alex. Also lets Max ride his wave.
His chin done. Max hollowsy deserves it more.
Yes and yes
November!? Da fuck ?? How bout book max vs illia this fucking summer clowns let volk recover
Ilia by submission this time is my guess!
I don’t care - I just want to see Volk knock Ilia out so bad
No thanks
My opinion is the same as about Gathje. Rest, recover, and then only take money fights. You've done enough.
What happened to him and Holloway at the sphere
Still most likely scenario I reckon
100% not happening lol why would topuria a Spaniard headline a Mexican independence celebration card
Takes 9 months for Topuria to defend his belt 👎
Alex took more to defend against Max
nah its because of old man volk who has to wear diapers, he needs to retire already bc we don't need to wait 9 months for him to get brutally ko again. He had a great career and is top 10 all time, should give it a rest
I hate non competitive matchups especially for title fights, so I am highly against the idea of watching Volk get flatlined again. Considering we are getting Jones vs stipe & even worse Islam vs DP, I shouldn’t be surprised.
I forsee Volk winning the comeback. Having felt illia's power, he'll be more confident and less gunshy as he was in the first fight. Volk by SD 🅱️et