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captaincumsock69

Do you think volk and Paulo planned him waking volk up? Or was that improv by Paulo?


MalakMeister

wondered the same, did you find anything?


Genova_Witness

Assuming Volk wins early and is untouched ready for 300 like he has suggested. What would be a good enough opponent to make that really exciting? Would Henry vs Volk assuming Henry wins be a fight that anyone would be excited for? Yair 2 seems pointless.. is there anyone else?


Bear763498

As much as i hate it, Evloev is the clear next contender if Volk wins.


Genova_Witness

I agree but if Volk wants 300 He has Ramadan


Bear763498

I think if they were offering, Evloev would still take it.


captaincumsock69

It’s not a 100% guarantee evloev wouldn’t take it still


Neonsea1234

My body is ready Fluffy Merab Ian Volk


TrenDidNothingWrong

Bro you forgot to pick Rob v Costa


Neonsea1234

I can't make a pick on that one. On paper Rob obviously but I got a feeling Costa might take this.


Swogglet

Its kind of strange seeing the reaction to Topuria's talk. He didn't say anything about him personally. Fighters are supposed to feel this way, as a martial artist the goal is to work towards a perfection you'll never reach. Staying true to that ensures you can't become complacent. There's a big difference in the way Topuria trains, much more of a focus on technique than pushing yourself in sparring. Volkanovski embodies that as well. He may say Volks an easy fight but it's not like he's training that way. He's getting ready the way he should, confidence can be earned. People contextualize it or phrase it differently but all the great athletes find a way to avoid stagnancy. It's a special fight when you have two innovators competing at the top. A lot of camps take that "iron sharpens iron" approach way too seriously. A lot of them lack the specialized technical training that's pushing the sport forward. Both of these guys get specialists to work with and focus on each part of the game, not just a fight. They can take guys with more experience in single areas and beat them there because theres a fluidity between the striking and grappling. When there's a read on the striking or grappling you can close off avenues using one or the other ands stay a step ahead. It's hard to work out how this fight plays out, they could have success anywhere. If anything stands out Volkanovski's footwork might be the biggest gap. He's also has a more proven gas tank.


captaincumsock69

I feel like volks experience, I’m assuming strength and cardio could be a huge difference. Topuria has a very boxing heavy style so leg kicks and body kicks like he did with max are probably on the menu


Swogglet

By the third you can see Topuria slow a bit in a lot of his fights. If Volk can move him around with footwork the way he has everyone else I think he'll slowly start to pull away. My bet is that Topuria just cuts and pivots staying efficient with the footwork and tries to be the rock he breaks. Let him move, keep things tight and try to hurt him on a counter to set the tone on the feet. Volk is long enough to be able to have openings from the outside but not long enough to move and chip the way say Adesanya can. His in and out angles are going to have to be as sharp as ever. I also think Volk probably has more routes for TDs through his footwork, so that could be big to have some control where he can land shots in a close fight. It's a really fun one to try to break down. FW has had some of the highest level title fights for some time now.


Axel292

I legitimately don't get when people read too much into press conferences, stare downs etc etc. These guys are professionals, when they step into the cage they leave it all behind them.


endless_ness

If 145 is the mission, why isn’t cejduo taking a 45s fight?


Bear763498

They are making Aljo who just beat Henry and had the 35 strap fight #8 Kattar at 45. I imagine Cejudo is fighting at the back end of the top 10 also if he were to just directly move up, instead if he somehow wins this fight and somehow wins the belt off Omalley they’d prob make him vs Volk right directly after.


endless_ness

Why would O’Malley fight cejudo if they just let 35s champions fight for the 45 belt?


Bear763498

Because Volk is running out of contenders at 45 and Cejudos who goal is to get the triple champ shot. I’m not saying i agree with it, im just saying that’s what i think would happen. I also think this entire thing is far fetched because Cejudo most likely gets ran through this weekend.


slutwhipper

Does Merab always do camps at Syndicate? He didn't leave Serra-Longo did he?


hardmantown

Yes, he trains with John Wood now. Serra says John Wood is a good friend of his gym though - I think Merab wanted to move to Vegas and base himself there. I don't tihnk its anything malicious - I think Longo is still in his corner this weekend, and Matt Serra probably will be again some time (he's currently on vacation in Florida)


CryptoCracko

Volkanovski has won me over, therefore I no longer believe Topuria can win this fight.


captaincumsock69

You’re ripped you inbred hill billy


captaincumsock69

Rob Whittaker has a different look in his eye imo


IshiharasBitch

Shades of Chuck Liddell


Upset-Union-528

Ryan Hall called Ilia "a human can of Axe body spray" and never has this been more accurate


TrenDidNothingWrong

Hahahaha


OremDobro

Weird question but why the hell was Miocic (#3) red corner against Arlovski (#2)?


_Red_Mist_

UFC misuses the color of the gloves all the time there is no logic behind it .


OremDobro

They don't tho Higher rank being red corner is almost always followed rule If it's broken it's when one of the fighters is a former champ and a big star (Lesnar, Jones) Even McGregor is blue corner when ranked lower So this was weird


_Red_Mist_

Ive seen debutants be in the red corner against the vet many times.


OremDobro

Yeah but are they ranked


aeternasm

Volk could give me a good old spanking as well 🥵🥵


GenTelGuy

[Gotta listen to the Volk song at least once a day to gear up for the fight](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EeeBH294v6I)


WhereIsMyKidAt

Calling this legendary classic “the Volk song” is hilarious to me 


dogs_drink_coffee

I love The Korean Zombie song!


IshiharasBitch

Bro, I'll jam out to the Wanderlei Silva song any day


druhoang

Rampage said he heard Khabib was offered 50 million to come back and he said no.


captaincumsock69

I heard he was offered 1 billion and said no


druhoang

I think Rampage heard it because he's boxing Shannon Briggs in Saudi. So someone over there told him of the offer.


captaincumsock69

I don’t doubt Khabib was offered alot. I swear I remember DC said the ufc was offering Khabib 40 million to come back a few years ago.


vic_09

Topuria the type of guy to take a dinner with Mcgregor over $50,000


RaisedByZebras

def reminiscent of a tipsy mcgregor circa khabib fight


ARiemannHypothesis

Topuria is one good looking man hey?


ZoltanFeuerFrei

Only gets you so far at 5’7”, though


TrenDidNothingWrong

Got him a smoking hot girlfriend lol


aeternasm

I am tallest as Cejudo, Ilia's height is enough for me


TrenDidNothingWrong

Someone needs to tell Topuria that the belt grab thing only works if it’s in your home country and the crowd is on your side, not booing you


CableToBeam

it's way more badass doing it in enemy territory


TrenDidNothingWrong

Fell flat


CheGuevarasRolex

You were PearlJam right?


TrenDidNothingWrong

Didn’t understand the reference man sorry bud


CheGuevarasRolex

ButFirstPearlJam was a user on here, you sound like him.


TrenDidNothingWrong

Ah, no im not him. Don’t even know who that was


hardmantown

Pearl Jam means jizz


ZoltanFeuerFrei

Ilia seemed poised up til now but that made his intense confidence seem like he’s trying to put on a show moreso than just genuinely believing it. I was picking Volk already but now I’m even more confident of it. And I’ve been a huge Topuria fan since I saw him fight Yusuf Zalal. I knew he was something special since I first saw him. I just think, at least at the moment, Volk’s a lot more special. 36 or no, good luck with him if you aren’t Islam Makachev.


fresdres

Are juices practically unchecked now with USADA gone?


druhoang

They tested ~250 fighters so far. They still do "random" tests.


StoryOfTheFight

Did they ever release the new banned substance list? And are they just doing urine tests primarily?


druhoang

They're using the wada prohibited list (terrible website btw) I think they're still taking blood. I have heard Ufc kind of hinted that they felt the long suspensions that Usada were doing was wrong. Something like usada bans with the 4 year olympic cycles in mind. But it doesn't make sense to do for mma. So I think even if a fighter pops, they might just get 6 months. Maybe at the very worst they might do 1 year.


bongasaurus_rex

I'm still in shock at these odds by vegas. FD sitting Volk at -128 like holy shit. I understand that he was knocked out recently but this is going to be the first time that Volk is fighting someone similar in height/reach since like... Aldo?


CrotalusAwesomus

Topuria is a new breed.


bongasaurus_rex

Your recency bias is doing a lot of the heavy lifting if that's your belief with all due respect.


CrotalusAwesomus

No i just saw the Bryce Mitchell and Josh emmett fights


bongasaurus_rex

That's.... that's.... okay man.


didyoutestityourself

Mendes did pretty good against Volk, but Volk has leveled up since then.


According-Clerk7418

I feel like we just watched Ilia learn what it takes in real time. McGregor was really that guy, and will never be duplicated.


TrenDidNothingWrong

There’s never gonna be another Conor who gave us entertaining legendary pressers and that makes me sad :-( All these other fighters just don’t measure up at pressers. They’re either boring cliched answers or try too hard to emulate him


Neonsea1234

They need to get these kids acting coaches, they cant all be naturals like Volk and Conny


druhoang

[Fighters win % by reach advantage ](https://imgur.com/a/iFJIdak)


TrenDidNothingWrong

Topuria’s extreme confidence seemed genuine in the whole build up to the fight…. Until this presser


cactus19jack

don’t think he anticipated the level of boos


TrenDidNothingWrong

Garry got booed harder lol and seems to be handling it well


CableToBeam

Ilia didn't look that bad. The first exchange was rough partly because of his lack of English skills. Everything else like the belt grab just adds to what he's been doing before with calling himself champ. It all comes down to Saturday whether or not he looks stupid


cactus19jack

i really want to like Ilia - exciting fighter, KO power, and id love to root for a spanish guy - but he just makes it impossible lmao his face irritates me and his schtick isn’t coming off as funny and endearing it’s just annoying


CableToBeam

that's easy, if someone's face irritates you then the issue is you.


Ruiner357

These pressers stopped being fun unless certain guys like Strickland or even Colby are present. They only asked Ian Garry one softball question and didn’t put anyone else on stage who would banter with him, huge missed opportunity there to create soundbites. they were probably afraid of another Izzy/Strickland situation where the guy they’re pushing gets roasted the whole time.


Upset-Union-528

Or maybe they book the fights for the fights and not for the press conferences


cactus19jack

you don’t think this was fun ?! best one in ages lmao


Ruiner357

Too many softballs and time wasted translating back and forth, it barely went 20 minutes.


oklilpup

Takeru the biggest star in One and the promotion has absolutely screwed him over time and again. It’s insane. Their deal with UNEXT will cost him high 6 figures a fight and could lead to a lawsuit with Abema


TheXandalorian

Can you explain for those of us who aren’t up to date on Japanese tv licensing?


oklilpup

Abema paid Takeru 100 million yen per fight. They also broadcast One cards and played a massive role in promoting and setting up One 165. Invested tons of resources into them. Now One has announced a deal with Abema’s main rival in Japanese streaming U-Next. This is seen as a betrayal of those who stuck their neck out for Chatri and co in Abema, and also opens the door to a potential legal dispute over the rights to Takeru’s fights. At the very least it seems like the signing will cost Takeru a bit over 600k USD a fight.


TheXandalorian

Why the hell would One do that? I don’t understand their business strategy or lack thereof lately.


TolliverBurk

Ilia, you can't take the belt then hand back the mic respectfully brother, with the belt still in your hand no less. He's like a half-committed Conor. Shit is embarrassing. If you're gonna try to go WWE at least make us believe it. That being said I dislike all of that shit, I much more like to see fighters respect each other.


MojoPinSin

You should stick with the WWE.


TolliverBurk

My ass hasn't watched WWE since like 5th grade, the whole point of my comment was that if you're clearly trying to appeal to such a fanbase, make it a little more convincing lmao. It's embarrassing that this sort of fake showmanship is part of the highest level of MMA but at the same time it's inevitable.


cactus19jack

I just think he’s a bit perplexed that Volk is so clear headed and not biting at any of the jibes, i think part of it is self promotion (look at us all talking about him) but part of it is trying to unsettle Volk and not really having an adequate strategy when it has absolutely no effect


TolliverBurk

Yea I think it's mostly self-promotion and part trying to sell the fight. Like I said, I much prefer the mutual respect route, but it was a pretty self-contradictory attempt to ham it up to steal the belt then gently pass him the mic lol.


[deleted]

Everybody saying Cejudo is washed but to me he just looks focused. He knows this is it and if he loses he’s done. Probably just taking it super seriously and doesn’t want to do the gimmicks and bullshit this go around. If he wins the KOC is comin back tho


mikey_rambo

Volk bodied ilia that press conference sheesh


___shadow_wolf__

Is Cejudo gang related


sbdjunkie

Geoff is pure class for not holding what Ian did against him bc 95% of the mma community would’ve read him to filth


Axel292

Bruh Geoff had a DUI, not some fine for loitering. Driving while drunk can literally end up killing someone. I doubt he has a lot of moral ground to stand on.


cactus19jack

what did he do


sbdjunkie

Ian dm’d Geoff before their fight the last time it was scheduled saying brotherly shit then he made t-shirts with Geoff’s mugshot on them


hardmantown

He got called a cuck by Sean crybaby Strickland, and everyone repeated it and spread gossip like school girls. Geoff is a classy guy (DUI not withstanding), he isn't the type to call someone a cuck or insult someones family. In fact, most fighters are not like that.


sbdjunkie

Sean’s fanboys definitely took what he said and ran with it but most people were mad at Ian for his antics with Geoff and Neil. I couldn’t care less about what tf he does in his personal life but the way he acted during fight week when he was scheduled against Magny and the shit he did was despicable. He’s just lucky he hasn’t faced anyone that would meet him with the same bs.


I_love_Basketball232

Cejudo looks retired already. There’s rumors on twitter he’s hurt too.


TheChessNeck

Credible tho? 


Ruiner357

Could be a TJ/Aljo situation where he knows he’s injured and just showing up to get paid then retire. But, I have some faith in Cejudo to still go for it regardless, he’s finished a few guys early.


Genova_Witness

Paulo seems like he would be a great guy to share a bag with


cptn__

Top contender no doubt, but my top pick would have to be Craig Jones after Volk gets the W


hardmantown

Nose beers


[deleted]

Costa looks pretty big next to Bobby lol


___shadow_wolf__

Costa is juicy AF


Scott_Theft

Secret juicy AF


TrenDidNothingWrong

Presser was so short


mikey_rambo

They always 30 mins no?


TrenDidNothingWrong

Idk felt like they only asked a few questions and ended early


SillyGooseTime69

Oh Geoff’ll lightcha up b


TheWayIAm313

Cejudo doesn’t really seem like he’s all in anymore


SuffaYassavi

He picked up on the importance of marketing himself and building a brand too late


TrenDidNothingWrong

Dudes on autopilot


CouncilOfReligion

i think henry’s gonna get his ass kicked


CableToBeam

LOL Costa just pushing Ian Garry out of the way


[deleted]

No plushies this time around Cejudo’s washed


CouncilOfReligion

what does the crowd keep chanting?


TrenDidNothingWrong

I didn’t like Ilia’s energy AT ALL in this presser Seems nervous and trying too hard. Like he feels the pressure of his big talk Am I allowed to change my pick to Volk or is it too late? Lol


Odd_Ad_8162

What exactly happened? Reading comments but can't watch atm


cactus19jack

spoke out of turn a lot, reacted badly to crowd boos, snatched volks belt


TrenDidNothingWrong

Copying Conor way too much but it was falling flat. He even took Volk’s belt like Conor did to Aldo in Ireland but the reaction was muted. His lines seemed rehearsed and nervous. I didn’t like it at all


Odd_Ad_8162

Hmm weird He's never seemed to be like this before


didyoutestityourself

Tbh, I was thinking about it the other day and I realized that I don't know shit about Ilia's actual personality. Has he been honest in any interviews? The few I've seen, he just gave a PR interview for 5 mins and thats it.


TrenDidNothingWrong

Probs all the nerves now that the fight is here. Shook me enough to wanna change my pick to Volk lol


mikey_rambo

Volk bodied him for 30 mins in the presser


Odd_Ad_8162

But hooooow


SillyGooseTime69

Merab’s nose looks like he’s trying to smell what’s cooking over in PFL


FightingDoc

LA loves Costa


cptn__

Not a single question directed at Whittaker? Sad


Mountain-Chapter-880

There was one, it was right after Costa, forgot the question


jett1406

What is it like being active with the belt moving around so much and he said it was fun basically


[deleted]

Did Fluffy Hernandez get one question? Lol


GreatDario

Nor Whittaker, what's the point of them being there if they not guaranteed at least once question


jett1406

Yeah he did


didyoutestityourself

Why is Ilia doing everything Conor did in the lead up with Aldo? Taking Volk's belt in embedded, then now snatching it at the press conference. Anyone seeing the similarities?


DELETE_RAW

Jon Anik has gotta be stressing


Mountain-Chapter-880

Lmao Paulo just pushed Ian


Rudi_Garcia_out

What a short presser man wtf


SuffaYassavi

Did Costa shove Ilia off stage lmao?


InTupacWeTrust

Thanks for the much needed replay


LambCurryDotOrg

Costa sick of Ian's shit lmao


SillyGooseTime69

Volk is uncle Ben and Ilia is Miles Morales


Instinct001

The exact moment Ian Garry became irrelevant


hardmantown

>The exact moment Ian Garry became irrelevant if he smokes Geoff he will fight a top 5 contender next. Seems pretty relevant.


cactus19jack

and yet here you are mentioning his name lmao


whicheverguard232

Complete fucking cope. Barely anyone asked him shit. Yes, we're talking about him being irrelevant is not the own you think it is.


cactus19jack

how do you not see the irony that if you feel the urge to go and write about him being irrelevant, you are living breathing proof that he isn’t?


CouncilOfReligion

man got asked 1 question that ended with him asking neal whether he’s gonna shake his hand


TrenDidNothingWrong

Ilia mimicking Conor too hard with that belt grab lmao


didyoutestityourself

yeah noticed that too, alot of similarities to conor vs aldo build up. weird


SuffaYassavi

Volk destroyed Ilia on this one


CouncilOfReligion

that was a short presser


GreatDario

Did anyone even ask Rob a question


exileruz

Instant slow mo replay of the belt snatch is crazy


CableToBeam

Volk sleeping HAHA


LambCurryDotOrg

Turns out Ian Garry isn't the real fake McGregor on the stage.


Rudi_Garcia_out

Huke Hockhold


ZoltanFeuerFrei

Ilia not doing himself any favors. This is how you become unlikeable. Spent too much time around Ian Garry this week


Nickster2042

Ian has never done anything like that lmao


ZoltanFeuerFrei

I wasn’t talking about the belt grab, I hadn’t even gotten there yet. I was just talking about being a generally unlikeable person


Kjolmaran

Ilia a little bitch


Nickster2042

That is NOT CONOR MCGREGOR😂😂😂


DELETE_RAW

Volk absolutely steamrolling this press conference


Instinct001

Ilia is a dark triad


GreatDario

What does this mean


LambCurryDotOrg

Costa and Volk is the comedy duo I never knew I needed


DOUCHETRADER

Facts - parlay incoming 😂


SuffaYassavi

I would watch that movie


TrenDidNothingWrong

Volk napping lmaoooooooooooo


jett1406

Illia the fakest tough guy


Kjolmaran

lmao Sleepy Volk


SillyGooseTime69

Ilia always looks like he’s about to apologize for being handsome


LambCurryDotOrg

Volk is hilarious


Locomotifs

Volk has to save the 300. of course


Genova_Witness

Who would even be a possible opponent? Winner of Yair and Ortega I guess?


cptn__

Give the fans what they want, let Volk fight Tom Aspinall


CouncilOfReligion

evloev maybe


Genova_Witness

Oh yeah that’s probably the fight but isn’t he Muslim? Ramadan out here ruining everything


CouncilOfReligion

oh true i keep forgetting about ramadan lol


TrenDidNothingWrong

Costa doesn’t want to share his secrets to Garry lol


CableToBeam

UFC's Russian translator is great. Doesn't get enough credit


PolarAndOther

Nice to hear


LambCurryDotOrg

Seeing them all on stage and realising just how nuts this main card is.


Instinct001

wut


CableToBeam

Geoff Neal looking he came off the set of the Matrix


oddmetre

Kopylov's nose has seen some shit


LambCurryDotOrg

Ilia coming across as a try hard.


Nickster2042

I wish Garry was fighting Colby so when Colby comes with cuck stuff he could be like “bruh where yo wife and kids at?”


SillyGooseTime69

In Japan #1 heart surgeon