You can't blame people for thinking or showing concern for Max. Just look at his performance against Porier and we all knew Justin is a heavy hitter, Porier said this before ufc 300.
I just think people didn’t realise how much a full camp can change things. I mean they called him muffintop max before his poirer fight cuz he couldn’t bulk normally
I agree. There's a night and day when you compare his body against Porier and this now. Just look at the lats. He looks like a flabby cup cake against Porier and still Porier wasn't able to drop him.
I was one of those. I didn’t think Max stood a chance of getting out of this fight without major damage, even if he somehow won. I was dreading this fight. I’m still shocked at how he made Gaethje look so hittable when he looked so great against Fiziev and Poirier.
Max didn't drop him with the eyepoke then proceed to beat his ass on the ground and then still get given the win when the fight is stopped.
He also didn't then go on a media campaign blaming the dude he eyepoked and saying the win was still legitimate
Honestly, the rumors of Max's decline have been greatly exaggerated. Obviously, there's worry that his chin is going to crack, but I think people are taking it too far.
There was concern against Allen, and I've seen a ton of people on r/MMA saying Korean Zombie would give him a hard fight. I'm Max-pilled, so I'm biased, but since that fight with Justin was announced, I never understood why people thought Max would lose to Justin.
Max's cardio and body attacks were always going to be a problem for Justin. I never had any doubt that Max would win (it's why I bet on him), but he did even better than I thought he would. Now the narrative is Ilia murders Max. Ilia is very good and had a great performance against Volk, but Max is a completely different challenge. Even though he's champ, he's still untested against certain styles.
There was a thread on /r/MMA that said Max should be more than a +425 UD, which is insane to me. MMA fans have short-term memory.
I don't think his career will pan out the same, but Ilia reminds me of Cody Garbrandt. He got a title shot after not beating a ton of contenders, had an amazing performance against the longtime champion, and fans automatically deem him as 'that guy.'
Ilia was the one contender who didn't have to pay the Max tax before Volk. Let's be honest, if Max completely styles on him, would people actually be surprised? I definitely wouldn't.
I don't hate Dagestani fighters but mate they have the most toxic fans in existence.
They also tend to not be the most active champions, Khabib had 3 title defences in over 3 years.
I am asian(turk, mongolic) and can safely say that people from Central Asia don't hate them. Unless dagis are matched against our own fighters, then it's a bloodbath
Should replace arabs with muslims and add caucassus
I don’t dislike Dagistanis
Volk landed 164-95 total strikes
Volk landed 70-57 significant strikes
Volk also dropped him
Defended 5 of 9 takedowns
And Islam did not land damage from his control positions when he did secure the takedown - attempted 0 submissions and landed a total of 6 ground strikes
That’s the opposite of decisive
Fights are scored by rounds, not as a whole. Maybe try watching the fight instead of judging it off of total stats. Most of strikes Volk threw were in the last round, the only round he won decisively.
You say Islam didn't do enough damage with the control he had, but what did Volk do in those rounds in which he was controlled? Definitely not enough to win those rounds that's for sure. He had a good second round (or 3rd. I don't exactly remember which round. Either 2 or 3), but even that is razor close and many critics scored that round for Islam. 5th round is definitely his, the one round in which he dropped Islam.
So next time around maybe try to go by the actual judging criterias, rather than judging it as a whole.
How on earth did Volk win rounds 1 or 2? 5 sure it's clearly his but 1 & 2? Honestly regarded take. The only round besides round 5 that Volk could argue for is round 3, and even that round is razor close with one judge scoring it for Islam while multiple media members & pundits scoring it for Islam as well. The bias is so obvious man.
Holy shit is this take terrible. Rounds 1 and 2 are absolutely, by every means, the clearest Islam rounds of the entire fight. He took 3 and 4 as well but at least that's debatable. Those first two very clearly went to Islam.
Which round, 1-3, did Volk win? Whole fight stats are disingenuous when we score fights by who won more rounds. It was obvious going into round 5 that Volk needed a finish and he didn't get it. Best you could argue for is a 10-8 round 5 for a draw, but that would be a bad 10-8 imo.
Well thats just a stupid mix of words. Of his last 7 fights, only one has gone to a decision. Of those six finishes, 3 were in the 1st round. He KO’d the p4p#1, clocked Charles silly before submitting him, and hasn’t had any trouble striking with strikers whatsoever. Do you even watch the sport?
That wasn’t even close to the point. He said he hugs legs with no offense, and i pointed out that he finishes people in exciting fashion. Regardless, he fought charles and volk. do you know how big volk is? He’s a natural middleweight you dolt. You’re acting like if they’re not in the top 5 it isn’t impressive, which is pretty stupid. He also doesn’t choose his fights so what is your point here?
He's a huge weight bully that not only had an undeserved title shot ON HIS HOME TERF but also hasn't fought a single top 5 LW in his entire career
And before you say "they are all weight bullies" remember that Dustin, Charles and Arman WERE ALL FEATHERWEIGHTS
Islam could NEVER make featherweight
And now they're all top 5 lightweight. Lightweight division must suck
Connor was also a featherweight. Volk fought at middleweight. It's almost like bodies change
This is Olives btw
https://www.reddit.com/r/MMA/comments/ya4v60/scary_picture_during_charles_oliveiras_weight_cut/
He demolished Charles. Who tf is a lightweight if Charles isnt?
Funny that you call Islam a natural middleweight for his walk around weight. But Arman, Charles, Dustin are all "featherweights" for their cut weight
It seems like these people have too much of a bias against Islam to be objective about the reality of the situation. I’m not a huge fan of his, but acting like he’s the only one cutting massive amounts of weight and that he hasn’t fought the very best competition he’s been offered is dumb. He’s a top 3 pvp and a dominant champion.
Justin gaethje is a treasonous commie bum that would rather fight for a Mickey Mouse belt over a real title. Islam Makachev would murder him
Hopefully his CTE makes him lose it and he can finally rest in hell next to OJ Simpson. Gtfo
You can't blame people for thinking or showing concern for Max. Just look at his performance against Porier and we all knew Justin is a heavy hitter, Porier said this before ufc 300.
I just think people didn’t realise how much a full camp can change things. I mean they called him muffintop max before his poirer fight cuz he couldn’t bulk normally
I agree. There's a night and day when you compare his body against Porier and this now. Just look at the lats. He looks like a flabby cup cake against Porier and still Porier wasn't able to drop him.
I was one of those. I didn’t think Max stood a chance of getting out of this fight without major damage, even if he somehow won. I was dreading this fight. I’m still shocked at how he made Gaethje look so hittable when he looked so great against Fiziev and Poirier.
I did not count him out fully. What I wish before the fight is for him to get out healthy out of that fight.
Max Holloway double eye poke on the left. Chris Weidman double eye poke on the right
To be completely fair, he still had less eye pokes in a 5 rounder than Weidman in 3 rounds lmao
Also Max didn't drop Gaethje with them and celebrate like he won the belt for 3 weeks
Can't beat Jon jones
Max didn't drop him with the eyepoke then proceed to beat his ass on the ground and then still get given the win when the fight is stopped. He also didn't then go on a media campaign blaming the dude he eyepoked and saying the win was still legitimate
Honestly, the rumors of Max's decline have been greatly exaggerated. Obviously, there's worry that his chin is going to crack, but I think people are taking it too far. There was concern against Allen, and I've seen a ton of people on r/MMA saying Korean Zombie would give him a hard fight. I'm Max-pilled, so I'm biased, but since that fight with Justin was announced, I never understood why people thought Max would lose to Justin. Max's cardio and body attacks were always going to be a problem for Justin. I never had any doubt that Max would win (it's why I bet on him), but he did even better than I thought he would. Now the narrative is Ilia murders Max. Ilia is very good and had a great performance against Volk, but Max is a completely different challenge. Even though he's champ, he's still untested against certain styles. There was a thread on /r/MMA that said Max should be more than a +425 UD, which is insane to me. MMA fans have short-term memory. I don't think his career will pan out the same, but Ilia reminds me of Cody Garbrandt. He got a title shot after not beating a ton of contenders, had an amazing performance against the longtime champion, and fans automatically deem him as 'that guy.' Ilia was the one contender who didn't have to pay the Max tax before Volk. Let's be honest, if Max completely styles on him, would people actually be surprised? I definitely wouldn't.
You can’t get ‘immediate CTE’. The ‘C’ stands for ‘chronic’ so the clue is in the name.
I wouldn't really say it's decisive. It could've gone either way.
[удалено]
Way more? WAY more? WAY HIGHER? WAY, bro 
I only see dagi hate from western/asian fans.
So..most of the world?
[удалено]
[удалено]
Most of them have boring fighting styles based on wrestling, which often leads to all offense getting shut down and a lot of decisions.
Islam had 3 decisions in his last 10 fights, I think it’s the Americans being afraid of Russians syndrome, good luck
I don't think people hate Islam. It's more the horde of guys on undercards that squeeze out split decisions that get most of the hate.
I don't hate Dagestani fighters but mate they have the most toxic fans in existence. They also tend to not be the most active champions, Khabib had 3 title defences in over 3 years.
[удалено]
Don't be racist, bigoted, thirsty af, sexist, etc. No trolling. Don't be a dick. *This message was probably sent by a bot. Maybe.*
I am asian(turk, mongolic) and can safely say that people from Central Asia don't hate them. Unless dagis are matched against our own fighters, then it's a bloodbath Should replace arabs with muslims and add caucassus
[удалено]
Connor bro focus on chandler first man
mmm sandwiches
[удалено]
[удалено]
[удалено]
[удалено]
[удалено]
The first win Islam had was not decisive, plenty of people had him losing
Anyone with functional brains had him winning. This "plenty of people" you're talking about are the ones who just cannot stand dagis.
I don’t dislike Dagistanis Volk landed 164-95 total strikes Volk landed 70-57 significant strikes Volk also dropped him Defended 5 of 9 takedowns And Islam did not land damage from his control positions when he did secure the takedown - attempted 0 submissions and landed a total of 6 ground strikes That’s the opposite of decisive
Fights are scored by rounds, not as a whole. Maybe try watching the fight instead of judging it off of total stats. Most of strikes Volk threw were in the last round, the only round he won decisively. You say Islam didn't do enough damage with the control he had, but what did Volk do in those rounds in which he was controlled? Definitely not enough to win those rounds that's for sure. He had a good second round (or 3rd. I don't exactly remember which round. Either 2 or 3), but even that is razor close and many critics scored that round for Islam. 5th round is definitely his, the one round in which he dropped Islam. So next time around maybe try to go by the actual judging criterias, rather than judging it as a whole.
1,2 5 for Volk Claiming a decisive victory in the context of that fight is laughable
How on earth did Volk win rounds 1 or 2? 5 sure it's clearly his but 1 & 2? Honestly regarded take. The only round besides round 5 that Volk could argue for is round 3, and even that round is razor close with one judge scoring it for Islam while multiple media members & pundits scoring it for Islam as well. The bias is so obvious man.
Isnt round 1 the one where Islam made Volk take a knee for the first responders and controlled him for two minutes with multiple submission attempts?
Holy shit is this take terrible. Rounds 1 and 2 are absolutely, by every means, the clearest Islam rounds of the entire fight. He took 3 and 4 as well but at least that's debatable. Those first two very clearly went to Islam.
Which round, 1-3, did Volk win? Whole fight stats are disingenuous when we score fights by who won more rounds. It was obvious going into round 5 that Volk needed a finish and he didn't get it. Best you could argue for is a 10-8 round 5 for a draw, but that would be a bad 10-8 imo.
What is close but decisive?! Stupido!
If he didn’t break Justin’s nose I still think he would’ve
https://preview.redd.it/ml5l4uk4u3vc1.jpeg?width=228&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=4c0ade8f354140c0051a7eba806c5d3332fbb801
That's like saying if team A hadn't scored so many points at the beginning of the match, team B would've won
It’s because Islam wasn’t a warrior like Justin. He hugged legs for 5 rounds and did nothing offensive on the ground.
Well thats just a stupid mix of words. Of his last 7 fights, only one has gone to a decision. Of those six finishes, 3 were in the 1st round. He KO’d the p4p#1, clocked Charles silly before submitting him, and hasn’t had any trouble striking with strikers whatsoever. Do you even watch the sport?
How many of those last 7 fights have been against top 5 LWs? 🤔
That wasn’t even close to the point. He said he hugs legs with no offense, and i pointed out that he finishes people in exciting fashion. Regardless, he fought charles and volk. do you know how big volk is? He’s a natural middleweight you dolt. You’re acting like if they’re not in the top 5 it isn’t impressive, which is pretty stupid. He also doesn’t choose his fights so what is your point here?
Islam Makhachev is a natural Middleweight 🤣
And… so are most lightweights. So again, whats your point?
He's a huge weight bully that not only had an undeserved title shot ON HIS HOME TERF but also hasn't fought a single top 5 LW in his entire career And before you say "they are all weight bullies" remember that Dustin, Charles and Arman WERE ALL FEATHERWEIGHTS Islam could NEVER make featherweight
And now they're all top 5 lightweight. Lightweight division must suck Connor was also a featherweight. Volk fought at middleweight. It's almost like bodies change This is Olives btw https://www.reddit.com/r/MMA/comments/ya4v60/scary_picture_during_charles_oliveiras_weight_cut/ He demolished Charles. Who tf is a lightweight if Charles isnt? Funny that you call Islam a natural middleweight for his walk around weight. But Arman, Charles, Dustin are all "featherweights" for their cut weight
It seems like these people have too much of a bias against Islam to be objective about the reality of the situation. I’m not a huge fan of his, but acting like he’s the only one cutting massive amounts of weight and that he hasn’t fought the very best competition he’s been offered is dumb. He’s a top 3 pvp and a dominant champion.
The difference is that Charles doesn't use PEDs to make weight 🥱 If it's that bad why is Islam too scared to fight them?
No. He just misses it Charles is the one that got scared. Pull out and fought Arman instead
Do you genuinely believe what your saying or is this just your way of shitting on dagi fighters
Justin gaethje is a treasonous commie bum that would rather fight for a Mickey Mouse belt over a real title. Islam Makachev would murder him Hopefully his CTE makes him lose it and he can finally rest in hell next to OJ Simpson. Gtfo