Definitely underrated on the feet. Definitely not one of the top 3 pure strikers at lightweight.
Zero takedowns? Poirier, Gaethje, Fiziev, Turner, possibly Charles
I've seen Do Bronx dropped by people not feinting. As I said, his defense was terrible. Also, it's notable that Islam's biggest punches were just countering Do Bronx.
Agreed. Love watching Charles fight, but his striking defense relied exclusively on his opponents being too afraid to follow him to the ground when he invariably got dropped.
> and it wasn’t the TD threat.
This is quite simply the stupidest comment here.
Unless it’s in the rules, there’s ALWAYS a takedown threat. The key is in the word "threat".
The key word is "Charles fought like he always does" and Ilsma's success was literally striking counters.
The dude was literally fucking dropped on a flying knee. I don't know if you know this, but a flying knee isn't something typically thrown by a dude scared of the TD.
Juts because Islam has a TD threat doesn't mean it's why he was effective. Charles blitz like normal, but again HIS DEFENSE IS FUCKING TERRIBLE.
What a load of nonsense. The takedown threat is the single biggest factor in striking defense in mma.
If there are takedowns allowed (it’s mma) and you are fighting comfortably the best wrestler in the division whose fucking signature attack is to take you to the mat….you’re going to be wary of the takedown threat. That’s threat. No matter what, the threat is there & you are adjusting how you would fight without the threat, to how you are fighting with the threat. Take away that threat (a kickboxing bout) then fighting styles, including defense (especially defense) change massively.
Highly doubt that, because this is the same cop out people say whenever they say something comepletely wrong about MMA and get called out for it, its easier to double down on being wrong than it is to actually take the time to understand why youre wrong. Maybe youve been watching but the majority of people that watch MMA even for a long time dont actually understand anything technical past the most basic level,Especially if theyve never done any type of combat sports training. Maybe youve been watching but you clearly dont understand what you were talking about to that much of an extent, you will double down on it though so please keep going for your own satisfaction, im not reading that tho.
you can make a good argument Islam hits harder than Chandler, only Islam was able to score an official knockdown against Charles (they didnt count chandlers knockdown)
Good old mma math.
Fighter A technically knocked fighter C down
Fighter B technically did not knock fighter C down.
Therefore Fighter A hits harder.
Let’s not take into account, or use evidence in the combined 54 other fights these two athletes have had, or the very different scenarios in which both the strikes mentioned above happened.
Let’s use your math instead to come to a conclusion.
He didn’t have very clean defense when Volkanovski dropped him & beat the shot out of him.
The state of his face after the fight, was NOT the face of a fighter with clean defense.
Volk never dropped him, but ok.
> beat the shot out of him.
On the ground?
Also, the fuck is this comment? I'm talking Do Bronx. Don't get pissy because he whipped your dude's ass.
You sound silly. You do realize Volk had a longer medical suspension than islam because Volk got his face busted open. Islam had a black eye and scrapes lol. Much rather have that then needing stitches
Volk did good but he arguably only won one round
Idk about 2nd best but I would see an argument for 2nd or even 1st most dangerous striking at LW. His wrestling threat helps a lot with his striking. Even this clip when the knee lands volk looks like he’s ready for a td.
E: I gotta start watching exchanges in slow mo it’s not a td feint it’s a right hook feint that gets volk to drop his head before the knee. It’s fuckin sick. Maybe this guy is Bangkok certified.
I agree 100% . He’s overlooked bc of his wrestling and that’s why he’s so dangerous . You’re so worried about his ground game that he starts piecing you up on the feet
Gaethje also established a takedown threat against Fiziev, before of which he was getting lit up by Rafa (also eyepoked tf out of fiziev too)
using ur logic, would Fiziev beat Gaethje in pure kickboxing too?
yeah i understand that, Justin also tried to take rafa down which created a takedown threat for fiziev, does that mean Fiziev wouldve beat him in a pure striking match?
No way he’s above Poirier. He’s good but Poirier’s defense is too damn great. I know Islam has the least hit stat, but I’m sure it’s also because of how much time is spent on the ground in his matches.
Poirier's defense heavily relies on having a killer chin and absurd heart to recover and fight through shots that would probably put others down. It's just the nature of the way he willingly gives ground and puts himself along the fence and chooses to weather the storm for an opening. His defense is still very good, but his attributes do carry it quite a bit.
Volk's most impressive strike was the very first one that connected in the fight.
From that point on, it seemed like every time volk wanted to push the pace or move forward, Islam made him pay and forced him to back off.
It was a recurring thing in that fight. Volk would look like he was going to go headhunting, only to be met by a strike from Islam that would force volk to back up.
Volk didn’t “outwrestle” islam are you insane lol. 4 takedowns for islam to zero for Volk. Much more control time for Islam. Defending a few takedowns and getting up doesn’t = outwrestling Islam. Delusional comment.
What do you call volks trip?
It's either a take down or a knock down, gotta pick one.
Islam had so much control time and controlled Volk so well that the only thing Volk could do was punch him in the face 60+ times
Look at [UFCStats](http://ufcstats.com/fight-details/256894b49303537b) that trip was not scored as a takedown. To be scored as a takedown you have to get your opponent to the mat and hold them there for more than just a quick moment.
First of all, its not a take down. Also, punch him the face 60 times? That did 0 damage and I am just astounded you dickriders somehow managed to make that a volk win. Meanwhile, Islam got 4 takedowns while people like you manage to think Volk got the better of it when he was the first one to not get dominated by Dagestani wrestling but not neccessarily managed to outwrestle Islam lol.
You say 60 punches to the head don't matter because they apparently did 0 damage... how much damage did Islam's takedowns do??? 0 submission attempts came from them as well, the only thing it did was put Islam in a position to get hit in the head 60+ times
That's where you're wrong bucko. I didn't say anything about the damage Islam did. They both didn't do shit in that position and therefore we go to the next criteria which Islam got through control time. There is no logical way you could argue Volk won that when he couldn't do shit at all and was in the vulnerable position for most of the round. Was it boring and didn't lead to a sub? yeah but you cannot argue volk won that one. Islam 3-2 by winning rounds 1,2, and 4.
I mean its not u derrated anymore.. He stood toe to toe with charles and volk and got better of them both.
Only real test would be dustin. If islam outstrikes dustin then that makes him one of the greatest active strikers
I genuinely believe had Khabib been in Islam's corner this fight wouldn't have gone the distance. As good as Islam is, he doesn't seem to have the killer instinct or aggressiveness that Khabib had and he looks to his corner for a lot of advice. Compare the Charles fight where Khabib was there shouting orders from the corner and Islam was like a wrecking machine to the Volk fight where Khabib wasn't there and was just hesitant in everything he did. Even in grappling and ground and pound he seemed like he was looking for instructions that weren't there. I know Khabib has said he's done from the sport, but if Islam rematches Volk and Khabibs in his corner, the rematch won't go the distance for sure.
It has much less to do with Khabib not being there and more to do with the shorter rehydration time and the weird time of the fight (morning time in Australia).
It’s honestly so tough to score the fight. I think it comes down to how you score the positions when Islam had Volk in a dominant position but didn’t threaten to finish the fight, nor did he land damage
Ok so in my amateur opinion each guys clearly won the rounds they won. Islam took rounds 1,2 and 4, Volk had rounds 3 and 5. The deciding factor then goes to Islam for winning more rounds.
To be really honest though Volk did way better than I thought he would. Size was not a factor at all and he did enough to avoid being subbed which surprised me. I would love a rematch but I understand if it cant happen.
I can see the argument Volk was the guy coming up a weightclass so itd be cool for him to take it but it was a clear 3-2 Makachev to me, I’m not a fanboy either. Makachev is gonna suffer from his and Khabibs success, people expect a lot out of him.
I would guess since this wasn’t scored a knockdown you probably need both opponents feet to not be supporting him, if volk was down to 2 knees I think it would’ve been? Could be wrong tho
I actually cant find the criteria for a knockdown in mma anywhere. Im pretty sure the khabib knockdown against mcgregor was also not counted officially
that makes no sense. you cant say the meaning of knockdown is unwavering and then immediately contradict yourself by saying it only matters how different sports treat it
the whole point it’s counted as a knockdown and scored accordingly is because they get the count. no reason to refer to it as such when the same process isn’t followed
Everytime i watch this fight i think Islam won but the stats of this fight tell a different story
Can someone explain why to the naked eye islam wins when he was outstruck?
Don't think Islam has good striking, I think him being able to go for a takedown and proceeding to maul people for the rest of the round is what makes his striking unorthodox and unique. Keeps people thinking what if
Dude, you've never seen a more authentic warrior in your life. Watching him take a hit drop to a knee and immediately stand and bang gave me goosebumps.
Islam looks so stiff and slow with his striking.
People think he looked good in this fight. And he did look relatively more confident with his stand-up...but that's because he had no respect for the smaller man's power and was able to walk him down and be reckless in the pocket.
He couldn't use the same timing he used in this fight against someone with good knockout power for his own weight category.
Edit: I used to be rather neutral with Islam. I liked him from the AKA vlogs but the Mackhachev cohort on reddit genuinely makes me hate him by proxy.
His ball lickers here act like he's a GOAT even though he was gifted a decision against a guy coming up from the weight below.
A guy who he was mocking as a midget absolutely humbled him.
>He couldn't use the same timing he used in this fight against someone with good knockout power for his own weight category
TIL Charles Oliveira is pillow-handed
No I don't mean that. Oliveira has very good power.
I think ElOgambit is sarcastically saying that I am wrong to claim that Islam couldn't walk down equal sized opponents with good power (like he did against Volk)
He is using Charles as an example. Islam survived all of Charles striking attempts in their fight.
However, its a bit of a poor argument because Charles didn't have the best of nights and didn't land any clean shots on Islam.
Plus Islam didn't strike with Charles the way he did with Volk.
He knew Volk doesn't have much power (or thought he knew) so he was willing to take a shot and time it to land his own counter.
It's quite a good strategy in general when you have a big size and/or power advantage but its not highly skilful and its not a frightening display of striking like the mouth breathers fan boys are claiming.
>However, its a bit of a poor argument because Charles didn't have the best of nights and didn't land any clean shots on Islam.
We saw how accurate and powerful Charles was against Gaethje, Chandler, and most recently Dariush. It's very convenient to say that Charles just had a bad night and not that the fighter you dislike just had better timing and defense.
Islam has been known for being a defensive phenom his entire career—in fact he has the record for the lowest amount of strikes absorbed per minute. Surely you can accept the fact that he simply shut down Oliveira's striking game?
Am I not explaining myself properly? What you're saying is almost talking at cross-purposes with my point.
I am saying - Islam cannot walk down a 155er with power the way he tried with Volk. Islam was actually waiting for Volk to land and throw almost as Volk was landing...
How can the Charles fight disprove this when:
A) Charles didn't land any power shots on Islam's chin, and
B) He didn't walk him down in this way, taking a shot to give a shot.
??
If any Mackhachev fan can answer this appropriately, I will humble eat my own hat.
Otherwise, please stop catching flies and shut your traps.
You've also just very dishonestly used statistics to prove your point.
If its true that he has the record for lowest strikes, its because of his wrestling heavy approach...NOT because of his striking skills.
Am I the only one that thought Alexander looked slow compared to Islam? And Alexander would only throw like two strikes then freeze almost waiting for the takedown?
As a fan of both this fight really delivered.
A true classic of the era. One of the fights fans will watch back for a long time to come.
Yeah although round 4 felt like such a waste
For sure, Islam needed to recover and catch his breath
That knee right down the middle was beautiful
Beautiful way to end a dominant striking exchange and transition to the grappling
hot take: Islam is the 2nd best striker at LW behind Poirier
Crazy take considering Chase Hooper is a lightweight now
Ain’t no tellin when the dream is in town BAYBEE
Definitely underrated on the feet. Definitely not one of the top 3 pure strikers at lightweight. Zero takedowns? Poirier, Gaethje, Fiziev, Turner, possibly Charles
Charles literally got tooled on the feet and it wasn't the TD threat. His defense is terrible.
You really can't say. It's the same thing Khabib presented. If there's an imminent threat of a takedown, it changes everything.
I've seen Do Bronx dropped by people not feinting. As I said, his defense was terrible. Also, it's notable that Islam's biggest punches were just countering Do Bronx.
Agreed. Love watching Charles fight, but his striking defense relied exclusively on his opponents being too afraid to follow him to the ground when he invariably got dropped.
> and it wasn’t the TD threat. This is quite simply the stupidest comment here. Unless it’s in the rules, there’s ALWAYS a takedown threat. The key is in the word "threat".
The key word is "Charles fought like he always does" and Ilsma's success was literally striking counters. The dude was literally fucking dropped on a flying knee. I don't know if you know this, but a flying knee isn't something typically thrown by a dude scared of the TD. Juts because Islam has a TD threat doesn't mean it's why he was effective. Charles blitz like normal, but again HIS DEFENSE IS FUCKING TERRIBLE.
What a load of nonsense. The takedown threat is the single biggest factor in striking defense in mma. If there are takedowns allowed (it’s mma) and you are fighting comfortably the best wrestler in the division whose fucking signature attack is to take you to the mat….you’re going to be wary of the takedown threat. That’s threat. No matter what, the threat is there & you are adjusting how you would fight without the threat, to how you are fighting with the threat. Take away that threat (a kickboxing bout) then fighting styles, including defense (especially defense) change massively.
I see you addressed nothing I said about the actual actions of the fight. Kindly go away now please.
Nope, I called out a load of nonsense for what it was.
You must be new to this sport or something
I’ve probably been watching it longer than you’ve been alive.
>watching Yah that's the problem. Get into a gym, you'll find out how wrong you are 20sec into your first spar
Fuckin Chuck Liddell handing out advice here lol
Highly doubt that, because this is the same cop out people say whenever they say something comepletely wrong about MMA and get called out for it, its easier to double down on being wrong than it is to actually take the time to understand why youre wrong. Maybe youve been watching but the majority of people that watch MMA even for a long time dont actually understand anything technical past the most basic level,Especially if theyve never done any type of combat sports training. Maybe youve been watching but you clearly dont understand what you were talking about to that much of an extent, you will double down on it though so please keep going for your own satisfaction, im not reading that tho.
I'm doubling down because I am correct, oh great master of mma knowledge.
How does a comment like this get upvoted?
Because it's reality?
Even Chandler beats Islam if there are no takedowns
I think Islam is a technically better kickboxer than Chandler. But Chandler does have the power advantage with his hands.
you can make a good argument Islam hits harder than Chandler, only Islam was able to score an official knockdown against Charles (they didnt count chandlers knockdown)
Good old mma math. Fighter A technically knocked fighter C down Fighter B technically did not knock fighter C down. Therefore Fighter A hits harder. Let’s not take into account, or use evidence in the combined 54 other fights these two athletes have had, or the very different scenarios in which both the strikes mentioned above happened. Let’s use your math instead to come to a conclusion.
After watching Islam drop Volk, I wouldn't be so sure.
mendes also dropped volk, and Chandler is a bigger better version of Mendes
Idk I think Mendes was more technical than Chandler
no he doesnt lmao, Chandler is a huge stretch
how the fuck is Charles better than Islam? bruh
I never said better. Straight up kickboxing, it’d be close. The others, not close.
Islam has clean defense. Do Bronx doesn't.
He didn’t have very clean defense when Volkanovski dropped him & beat the shot out of him. The state of his face after the fight, was NOT the face of a fighter with clean defense.
Volk never dropped him, but ok. > beat the shot out of him. On the ground? Also, the fuck is this comment? I'm talking Do Bronx. Don't get pissy because he whipped your dude's ass.
Look at your boy’s face at the end of the fight & look at Volkanovski’s. Case closed.
You sound silly. You do realize Volk had a longer medical suspension than islam because Volk got his face busted open. Islam had a black eye and scrapes lol. Much rather have that then needing stitches Volk did good but he arguably only won one round
Idk about 2nd best but I would see an argument for 2nd or even 1st most dangerous striking at LW. His wrestling threat helps a lot with his striking. Even this clip when the knee lands volk looks like he’s ready for a td. E: I gotta start watching exchanges in slow mo it’s not a td feint it’s a right hook feint that gets volk to drop his head before the knee. It’s fuckin sick. Maybe this guy is Bangkok certified.
I agree 100% . He’s overlooked bc of his wrestling and that’s why he’s so dangerous . You’re so worried about his ground game that he starts piecing you up on the feet
After improving this much he is imo the 3rd right behind gaethje and poirier
nah, Islam is a better striker than Gaethje, compare their fights with Oliveira
Threat of the takedown changes everything, look how differently kickboxers fight in mma
Gaethje also established a takedown threat against Fiziev, before of which he was getting lit up by Rafa (also eyepoked tf out of fiziev too) using ur logic, would Fiziev beat Gaethje in pure kickboxing too?
As someone that actually trains mma and competes in boxing, trust me kid the takedown threat makes a big difference
yeah i understand that, Justin also tried to take rafa down which created a takedown threat for fiziev, does that mean Fiziev wouldve beat him in a pure striking match?
MMA math 101
Honestly, I think he’s number one
No way he’s above Poirier. He’s good but Poirier’s defense is too damn great. I know Islam has the least hit stat, but I’m sure it’s also because of how much time is spent on the ground in his matches.
Poirier's defense heavily relies on having a killer chin and absurd heart to recover and fight through shots that would probably put others down. It's just the nature of the way he willingly gives ground and puts himself along the fence and chooses to weather the storm for an opening. His defense is still very good, but his attributes do carry it quite a bit.
Yeah having an insane chin helps, but he also blocks and rolls better than anyone else as well though
Fiziev…
I'd take Justin or that other Russia Thai boxer as 2nd, but Islam is very good. Especially at striking while moving backwards. (an underated skill).
Took a knee for the first responders
The feints were top tier too
This fight was so good and high level
In my opinion I think its the most high level fight of all time. Exciting from start to finish
Possibly an uneducated opinion but it’s the most high level fight I can think of too
You clearly never saw kimbo slice verses da da 5000, mma at its most elite.
Bones vs DC has to be up there
Whittaker Adesenya 2 in third place for me in recent times
Match made in heaven. Volk was a fucking badass who showed zero respect to Islam's phenomenal fighting. Both were amazing.
These guys Are both awesome I would love to see a run back
U got ur wish lad
How awesome
Volk's most impressive strike was the very first one that connected in the fight. From that point on, it seemed like every time volk wanted to push the pace or move forward, Islam made him pay and forced him to back off. It was a recurring thing in that fight. Volk would look like he was going to go headhunting, only to be met by a strike from Islam that would force volk to back up.
If you’d have told me Volk outwrestled Islam and Islam outstruck Volk I’d have said you were nuts
Volk didn’t “outwrestle” islam are you insane lol. 4 takedowns for islam to zero for Volk. Much more control time for Islam. Defending a few takedowns and getting up doesn’t = outwrestling Islam. Delusional comment.
What do you call volks trip? It's either a take down or a knock down, gotta pick one. Islam had so much control time and controlled Volk so well that the only thing Volk could do was punch him in the face 60+ times
Look at [UFCStats](http://ufcstats.com/fight-details/256894b49303537b) that trip was not scored as a takedown. To be scored as a takedown you have to get your opponent to the mat and hold them there for more than just a quick moment.
Colby fans in shambles
First of all, its not a take down. Also, punch him the face 60 times? That did 0 damage and I am just astounded you dickriders somehow managed to make that a volk win. Meanwhile, Islam got 4 takedowns while people like you manage to think Volk got the better of it when he was the first one to not get dominated by Dagestani wrestling but not neccessarily managed to outwrestle Islam lol.
You say 60 punches to the head don't matter because they apparently did 0 damage... how much damage did Islam's takedowns do??? 0 submission attempts came from them as well, the only thing it did was put Islam in a position to get hit in the head 60+ times
That's where you're wrong bucko. I didn't say anything about the damage Islam did. They both didn't do shit in that position and therefore we go to the next criteria which Islam got through control time. There is no logical way you could argue Volk won that when he couldn't do shit at all and was in the vulnerable position for most of the round. Was it boring and didn't lead to a sub? yeah but you cannot argue volk won that one. Islam 3-2 by winning rounds 1,2, and 4.
Volk having success defending islams take downs is not the same as him out wrestling him.
Volk not getting subbed is not him out wrestling Islam, delete this fsm
But the opposite happened? Volk won overall on the feet but Islam’s grappling made the difference.
Islam won this exchange . Even though volk got islam right blocked while coming in pocket but still islam shooked with that beautiful left hook.
And ended it with a great knee and some grappling
Sneaky ass kick by Islam
Islam has some underrated striking
I mean its not u derrated anymore.. He stood toe to toe with charles and volk and got better of them both. Only real test would be dustin. If islam outstrikes dustin then that makes him one of the greatest active strikers
I wanna part 2 , it could have potential for great trilogy
If Volk beats Yair, that fight makes more sense than the Charles rematch. Volk almost beat Islam while Charles got trashed in every aspect of MMA.
No Volk didn’t almost beat Islam , if Volk beat he would beat him…
That’s why I said almost bruh
buddy watch round 5
Buddy watch the whole match.
I genuinely believe had Khabib been in Islam's corner this fight wouldn't have gone the distance. As good as Islam is, he doesn't seem to have the killer instinct or aggressiveness that Khabib had and he looks to his corner for a lot of advice. Compare the Charles fight where Khabib was there shouting orders from the corner and Islam was like a wrecking machine to the Volk fight where Khabib wasn't there and was just hesitant in everything he did. Even in grappling and ground and pound he seemed like he was looking for instructions that weren't there. I know Khabib has said he's done from the sport, but if Islam rematches Volk and Khabibs in his corner, the rematch won't go the distance for sure.
Or maybe Volk is better than Oliveira.
I think Islam beats Volk more decisively in a rematch, but Volk was just a tougher fight, I think he’d batter Oliveira on the feet.
It has much less to do with Khabib not being there and more to do with the shorter rehydration time and the weird time of the fight (morning time in Australia).
I think it's both.
That was a great fight.
Yair gets that combo off and Volk sleeps
Yair isn’t a southpaw with a serious grappling threat.
He can fight just as well from either stance
Yes… with a completely style on the feet and on the ground. Yair is a better striker than Islam but they’re not comparable at all.
This fight was a beauty.
Good damn both these guys are unbelievable
Islam didn’t get the respect he deserved for this fight. This whole sub was “VOLK WAS ROBBED!!!” The entire weekend
People just get blinded by the fact Volk performed far better than expected. Doesn't mean he won the fight.
For surviving on his back too. I mean he had islam on his back for a significant time which means surviving is the only thing he could do.
He was so gassed at the end. He looked like a deer in headlights lol
It’s honestly so tough to score the fight. I think it comes down to how you score the positions when Islam had Volk in a dominant position but didn’t threaten to finish the fight, nor did he land damage
Ok so in my amateur opinion each guys clearly won the rounds they won. Islam took rounds 1,2 and 4, Volk had rounds 3 and 5. The deciding factor then goes to Islam for winning more rounds. To be really honest though Volk did way better than I thought he would. Size was not a factor at all and he did enough to avoid being subbed which surprised me. I would love a rematch but I understand if it cant happen.
I can see the argument Volk was the guy coming up a weightclass so itd be cool for him to take it but it was a clear 3-2 Makachev to me, I’m not a fanboy either. Makachev is gonna suffer from his and Khabibs success, people expect a lot out of him.
I am a Volk fanboy but fuck me if makhacev ain’t that dude. He puts in discipline and respect!
That knee could have ended it, people saying volk won realize he got outstruck in the match right? Lol
Islam is a very smart fighter.
For the Volk suckers
Crazy islam wasnt awarded a knockdown for this
getting knocked to one knee is never scored a knockdown. it’s why there were 0 scored knockdowns for max in his second fight with volk
Which is dumb because getting knocked to one knee is considered a knockdown in boxing
which is a dumb comparison since mma isn’t boxing and has different rules
Where even is the criteria for a knockdown in mma?
I would guess since this wasn’t scored a knockdown you probably need both opponents feet to not be supporting him, if volk was down to 2 knees I think it would’ve been? Could be wrong tho
I actually cant find the criteria for a knockdown in mma anywhere. Im pretty sure the khabib knockdown against mcgregor was also not counted officially
That’s insane to be because that’s nearly as clean-cut as a knockdown comes
But it would fit with the two feet thing. If I recall right Conor stumbled backwards but kept at least one foot on the mat and got back up
A knockdown is a knockdown. Only difference to me is how the different sports treat it.
that makes no sense. you cant say the meaning of knockdown is unwavering and then immediately contradict yourself by saying it only matters how different sports treat it
Volk would've gotten 8 seconds to recover if this was a boxing match. In mma he doesn't get anything. At least count it lol
the whole point it’s counted as a knockdown and scored accordingly is because they get the count. no reason to refer to it as such when the same process isn’t followed
Damn volk got rocked with that headkick
My favorite part
Everytime i watch this fight i think Islam won but the stats of this fight tell a different story Can someone explain why to the naked eye islam wins when he was outstruck?
Because it isn’t a boxing match
Here's a more extreme example of why we shouldn't rely on stats. Rob Font significantly outstruck Chito Vera.
Don't think Islam has good striking, I think him being able to go for a takedown and proceeding to maul people for the rest of the round is what makes his striking unorthodox and unique. Keeps people thinking what if
First time I've ever seen pure legitimate fear and terror in the eyes of Volkanovski. Never thought I'd see that guy scared and defenseless.
Dude, you've never seen a more authentic warrior in your life. Watching him take a hit drop to a knee and immediately stand and bang gave me goosebumps.
Idk wtf that even means.
That makes sense.
🙄
Volk looked scared? https://preview.redd.it/dh099m0xcm7b1.jpeg?width=1170&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=77ef07f625324b78fd543c2035951f1f9fbee066
I love this photo so much. Islam was in deep, dark waters here. Like a rich man on an expensive expedition.
That was a.... nasty line by you?
lmao
What are you talking about? This is such a bad take I want to put you on timeout in a corner somewhere.
Lol. I bet you go for Qld too...
When Yair throws that head kick volk goes down
But he pops right back up and then finishes Yair 
Oh it's happening 🐕
Exchange. 😂😂😂
And people would still argue that Alex was robbed. 😅
Islam looks so stiff and slow with his striking. People think he looked good in this fight. And he did look relatively more confident with his stand-up...but that's because he had no respect for the smaller man's power and was able to walk him down and be reckless in the pocket. He couldn't use the same timing he used in this fight against someone with good knockout power for his own weight category. Edit: I used to be rather neutral with Islam. I liked him from the AKA vlogs but the Mackhachev cohort on reddit genuinely makes me hate him by proxy. His ball lickers here act like he's a GOAT even though he was gifted a decision against a guy coming up from the weight below. A guy who he was mocking as a midget absolutely humbled him.
>He couldn't use the same timing he used in this fight against someone with good knockout power for his own weight category TIL Charles Oliveira is pillow-handed
He didn't land any shots. So how could you deduce that from what I said?
He perfectly timed and knocked down Oliveira with a right hand. So you're saying Oliveira isn't an opponent with good knockout power.
No I don't mean that. Oliveira has very good power. I think ElOgambit is sarcastically saying that I am wrong to claim that Islam couldn't walk down equal sized opponents with good power (like he did against Volk) He is using Charles as an example. Islam survived all of Charles striking attempts in their fight. However, its a bit of a poor argument because Charles didn't have the best of nights and didn't land any clean shots on Islam. Plus Islam didn't strike with Charles the way he did with Volk. He knew Volk doesn't have much power (or thought he knew) so he was willing to take a shot and time it to land his own counter. It's quite a good strategy in general when you have a big size and/or power advantage but its not highly skilful and its not a frightening display of striking like the mouth breathers fan boys are claiming.
>However, its a bit of a poor argument because Charles didn't have the best of nights and didn't land any clean shots on Islam. We saw how accurate and powerful Charles was against Gaethje, Chandler, and most recently Dariush. It's very convenient to say that Charles just had a bad night and not that the fighter you dislike just had better timing and defense. Islam has been known for being a defensive phenom his entire career—in fact he has the record for the lowest amount of strikes absorbed per minute. Surely you can accept the fact that he simply shut down Oliveira's striking game?
Am I not explaining myself properly? What you're saying is almost talking at cross-purposes with my point. I am saying - Islam cannot walk down a 155er with power the way he tried with Volk. Islam was actually waiting for Volk to land and throw almost as Volk was landing... How can the Charles fight disprove this when: A) Charles didn't land any power shots on Islam's chin, and B) He didn't walk him down in this way, taking a shot to give a shot. ?? If any Mackhachev fan can answer this appropriately, I will humble eat my own hat. Otherwise, please stop catching flies and shut your traps. You've also just very dishonestly used statistics to prove your point. If its true that he has the record for lowest strikes, its because of his wrestling heavy approach...NOT because of his striking skills.
Not Islam fault Volk is a midget
Am I the only one that thought Alexander looked slow compared to Islam? And Alexander would only throw like two strikes then freeze almost waiting for the takedown?
[удалено]
“compared to Islam”
VoLk WaS nEvEr In DaNgEr
These dudes are fuckin studs.
We truly were spoiled with this fight. Im glad it happened.
Volk was just taking a knee for the first responders
Did Volk trip when he went to a knee? I don’t see Islam landing anything that could drop him in slow motion
Frightening? What part you goof. Intensity is there but nothing else
Lol Volk got dropped
Khabib could never do that.
UFC going out of it's way to claim that a strike that dropped someone to one knew is not a knock down
Chaotic
Excellent clip.
Islam is elite. Can't see him losing for a long time.
Fuck I loved this fight. If only there was one more round
I had my first “big” fight party for this card and it did not disappoint
Nothing better than a solid fight
We need a Islam-Volk 2. These dudes went out to kill.
Where’s this frightening exchange? Looks to me like it’s an Islam attack in a fight where he barely beat the much smaller man.
Halloway and Islam both landed good head kicks on volk, I respect the dude, but if he gives Yair the chance he may just headshot-dead him.
Oh Islam, another "let me hold you here and win the fight" bullshit artist.
bro fought max and took his undying totem, cause this mf just ignored cte💀. man.