UFC 314

[the_interloper]

That doesn't mean he hasn't lost a yard. Lopes fought a poor fight and didn't look anywhere near the level of Yair, Max, Ilia etc. Volk beat him fair and square but he beat him in a veteran way not in the peak Volk way.

He’s past his best, he’d have to be, but he’s the champ and beat a bloke in his prime. Fighters get more intelligent as they go along but the body lets them down slowly, he’s still got enough of both to get it done it seems.

 

[00Stinger]

**** I hate Chael. What a mess

Edit: I don't hate Chael. I just hate him at the desk. What is this campaigner on ffs?

he spewing Volk won after all the mad shit he spewed about him this week

 

[Soggy2112]

Lopes had some great moments and can be proud of his performance, but I can’t believe there are people suggesting he should have won. He had some good moments that might have been enough to steal a round or two, but Volk consistently landed more both in terms of volume and power throughout the entirety of the fight. It was an absolute masterclass, and to put on a performance like that given his last two fights cements him as one of the absolute best ever.

Who knows how things pan out from here, but Lopes will be very interesting to watch, he showed that he can land his shots against the very best, but he also had his weaknesses exposed. If he learns from it, and Volk is able to hang around at an elite level for a bit longer I’d be keen to see a rematch in 18-24 months time.

 

[Struggle]

Lopes had some great moments and can be proud of his performance, but I can’t believe there are people suggesting he should have won. He had some good moments that might have been enough to steal a round or two, but Volk consistently landed more both in terms of volume and power throughout the entirety of the fight. It was an absolute masterclass, and to put on a performance like that given his last two fights cements him as one of the absolute best ever.

Who knows how things pan out from here, but Lopes will be very interesting to watch, he showed that he can land his shots against the very best, but he also had his weaknesses exposed. If he learns from it, and Volk is able to hang around at an elite level for a bit longer I’d be keen to see a rematch in 18-24 months time.

Yeah even in round 4 when volk was backpedalling and couldn't see, he was still landing the better shots and at double the rate. The fight was never close on the scorecard, Lopez only path to a win was a finish

It easily could have been scored 5-0 volk

 

[BigBreakfast]

And new...

Congratulations Volk. Absolute living legend and Aussie to the core

Took his lumps and stuck to the game plan, no standing and throwing and falling into Lopes' world. Angles, levels and champ again

 

[norway blue]

Paddy was awesome.
Want to see a triangle next.

 

[Topkent]

He’s past his best, he’d have to be, but he’s the champ and beat a bloke in his prime. Fighters get more intelligent as they go along but the body lets them down slowly, he’s still got enough of both to get it done it seems.

It's no slight on Volk at all just my observation watching him that he's not the same guy he was 3 years ago. That's why the win is even more impressive because he's not the same guy and he still beat and absolute savage.

Maybe he will get a bit more confidence back now that he made it through a fight without being finished and sharpen up more but I guarantee if he does fight Yair next it's not as easy as the first time

Also to be clear I'm not shitting on him. He cemented himself as the goat and that was one of my favourite ever moments as an MMA fan.

 

[Hoop1888]

Christ, that was a good knockout by Reyes, right on the button. Good win for Pimblett. Not to discredit the win, but Chandler has racked up a lot of damage - haven't seen the full fight but am curious to see if he started swinging wildly & if it went downhill from there. Good on Volk - he must have been under a lot of pressure to win.

 

[Topkent]

Christ, that was a good knockout by Reyes, right on the button. Good win for Pimblett. Not to discredit the win, but Chandler has racked up a lot of damage - haven't seen the full fight but am curious to see if he started swinging wildly & if it went downhill from there. Good on Volk - he must have been under a lot of pressure to win.

Chandler didn't nah. Probably his least ever Chandler performance

 

[Hoop1888]

Chandler didn't nah. Probably his least ever Chandler performance

Interesting. Nice knee Pimblett cracked him with. Would like to see Pimblett & Oliviera next. Thoughts?

 

[Topkent]

Interesting. Nice knee Pimblett cracked him with. Would like to see Pimblett & Oliviera next. Thoughts?

I think Charles wins that fight but yeah definitely an option. I think it's either Charles, Justin or Arman for Pimblett for a title eliminator. If I'm Paddy I wanna book that asap while Islam's sidelined so my name's still in the lights.

 

[Hoop1888]

I think Charles wins that fight but yeah definitely an option. I think it's either Charles, Justin or Arman for Pimblett for a title eliminator. If I'm Paddy I wanna book that asap while Islam's sidelined so my name's still in the lights.

I thought I read Islam would be back in June & Gaethje was calling for the fight. There's also Topuria to consider given their bit of history. But him against Oliviera would be fun to watch just for the scrambles on the ground. The worry for Pimblett is when he comes up against a good striker with solid grappling, imo.

 

[Topkent]

I thought I read Islam would be back in June & Gaethje was calling for the fight. There's also Topuria to consider given their bit of history. But him against Oliviera would be fun to watch just for the scrambles on the ground. The worry for Pimblett is when he comes up against a good striker with solid grappling, imo.

Islam's waiting for JDM and Belal I read to try and go for a second belt if JDM wins. Forgot about Topuria the hype there would be off the charts. I think Topuria probably wants someone higher tho to launch to a title shot. Not sure beating paddy gets him that and yeah I have the same worry for Paddy.

 

[Hoop1888]

Islam's waiting for JDM and Belal I read to try and go for a second belt if JDM wins. Forgot about Topuria the hype there would be off the charts. I think Topuria probably wants someone higher tho to launch to a title shot. Not sure beating paddy gets him that and yeah I have the same worry for Paddy.

Yeah, there's a lot of options there & interesting fights to be had. I would assume Topuria would be next, but he gave an interview saying he's not being guaranteed it. Maybe they make an interim belt if Jack wins & Islam wants to go back down - but I don't see Islam getting an immediate shot, however, it all depends on who is available & when. Shavkat should, ideally, be next in line & fighter star power/how many ppvs they sell is also a factor.

Pimblett doesn't seem to be bringing fans over from England - bar a few folk in the crowd with the bionde wigs. I'd be delighted if Jack wins, but the fight with Shavkat would interest me more than a fight with Islam.

 

[Topkent]

Yeah, there's a lot of options there & interesting fights to be had. I would assume Topuria would be next, but he gave an interview saying he's not being guaranteed it. Maybe they make an interim belt if Jack wins & Islam wants to go back down - but I don't see Islam getting an immediate shot, however, it all depends on who is available & when. Shavkat should, ideally, be next in line & fighter star power/how many ppvs they sell is also a factor.

Pimblett doesn't seem to be bringing fans over from England - bar a few folk in the crowd with the bionde wigs. I'd be delighted if Jack wins, but the fight with Shavkat would interest me more than a fight with Islam.

Would be kinda shit of the UFC to have Topuria vacate and then let Islam go up without vacating.
I think Shavkat pulling out of the Belal fight lost him a bit of favour.

But yeah lots of options. I wish they'd hurry up and book them all already.

 

[Hoop1888]

Would be kinda shit of the UFC to have Topuria vacate and then let Islam go up without vacating.
I think Shavkat pulling out of the Belal fight lost him a bit of favour.

But yeah lots of options. I wish they'd hurry up and book them all already.

I'm pretty sure he vacated it just because he found the weight cut too hard - & with no promise of a title shot, bit of a risky move on his part. Either way, there's potentially some cracking fights there & I seen Dana & Topuria posting "big news coming soon" about him a month ago, but still nothing. I seen Khabib saying he doesn't deserve an immediate title shot.

But if all falls into place, be fantastic if Islam, Topuria, Gaethje & Oliviera were fighting on the same card. In other news, seen Poirier is rumoured to be fighting Max.

 

[the_interloper]

I'm pretty sure he vacated it just because he found the weight cut too hard - & with no promise of a title shot, bit of a risky move on his part. Either way, there's potentially some cracking fights there & I seen Dana & Topuria posting "big news coming soon" about him a month ago, but still nothing. I seen Khabib saying he doesn't deserve an immediate title shot.

But if all falls into place, be fantastic if Islam, Topuria, Gaethje & Oliviera were fighting on the same card. In other news, seen Poirier is rumoured to be fighting Max.

I did say that FW is the deepest division but it might be lightweight, so many fun match ups to be had. I still reckon Islam wrecks them all, hopefully we see.

 

[Soggy2112]

Would be kinda shit of the UFC to have Topuria vacate and then let Islam go up without vacating.
I think Shavkat pulling out of the Belal fight lost him a bit of favour.

But yeah lots of options. I wish they'd hurry up and book them all already.

I think it would be more than fair to let Islam keep the lightweight belt.

Ilia was talking about going up after one title defence. Lopes and Movsar both had pretty good arguments for a title shot, and Alex was also worthy of a rematch having defended the belt 5 times. Ilia had not cleaned out the division the way Alex did before fighting Islam. It would have stalled the featherweight division and led to a bunch of interim title fights potentially.

In contrast, with the exception of Arman, who it seems like has pissed Dana off and will have to earn his title shot now, there is not a logical next opponent for Islam at the moment. He’s fought Charles, Dustin and Justin before and none of them have really done anything to suggest they’re ready for another shot. Obviously Ilia is there and while I think he is the best opponent for Islam, but as I said, he didn’t clean out featherweight and I believe he should have to earn his shot by probably fighting Arman if possible.

Ilia would have been holding up the division if he didn’t vacate, whereas there’s actually a fair bit that needs to play out before someone is ready to take on Islam, so it’s not holding anything up if he does go up to fight JDM or Belal.

 

[Topkent]

I think it would be more than fair to let Islam keep the lightweight belt.

Ilia was talking about going up after one title defence. Lopes and Movsar both had pretty good arguments for a title shot, and Alex was also worthy of a rematch having defended the belt 5 times. Ilia had not cleaned out the division the way Alex did before fighting Islam. It would have stalled the featherweight division and led to a bunch of interim title fights potentially.

In contrast, with the exception of Arman, who it seems like has pissed Dana off and will have to earn his title shot now, there is not a logical next opponent for Islam at the moment. He’s fought Charles, Dustin and Justin before and none of them have really done anything to suggest they’re ready for another shot. Obviously Ilia is there and while I think he is the best opponent for Islam, but as I said, he didn’t clean out featherweight and I believe he should have to earn his shot by probably fighting Arman if possible.

Ilia would have been holding up the division if he didn’t vacate, whereas there’s actually a fair bit that needs to play out before someone is ready to take on Islam, so it’s not holding anything up if he does go up to fight JDM or Belal.

**** that. Islam fights twice a year, you'd have one title fight a year in both divisions then make the sport even boring

 

[RobbyRoy]

Great event, great results, Volk, so good

 

[norway blue]

Huge kudos to volk. I thought Lopez would blast through him . What a little double champ.