What went wrong for Volkanovski against Topuria? 

Volk looked like prey the whole fight. Even if he landed a few jabs and kicks he looked very uncomfortable in there getting stalked by Ilia

Ilia has some slick footwork

He ran into a killer named Ilia is what went wrong.

That leanback thing he was doing to avoid shots had my heart in my mouth...I was screaming that a right hook is RIGHT THERE, Volk, cover up. Tragic loss for the GOAT

People, including you Dan, don’t give Ilia his credit. Volk looked good, sharp and fast. He did his best. Guy did not stop moving, threw jabs, kicks nonstop, while not staying stationary. Ilia was just cutting him and pressuring too good. He blocks shots well and has the ability to still move forward. It is impossible not to get at the fence at some point of the fight while your opponent presses you like that. And Illia’s accuracy is almost perfect, he does not waste his shots…

when i saw ilia throw that first crazy ass combo i knew it was over

Lack of boxing defense in general, especially in the pocket against a shorter opponent. The last time Volk fought someone similar in height to him was in May of 2019 against Jose Aldo, almost 5 years ago. I doubt he has sparred much against shorter fighters during this time period

I have to say, for people to keep saying "Volk wasn't doing very well" is disingenuous. Ilia brought the thunder, and Volk was doing his thing, but Ilia had a perfect game plan for how to walk Volk down. He was just the better man that night.

He was coming off a big headkick KO. That really matters. He did not leave it long enough. Turns out he ruined his own legacy with fighting up a weight. No telling how more title defences he could have racked up

The way he planted before that right hand was beautiful

This guy looks a big casual with that arguments.. Ilia is better ...9out of 10 times volka is loosing against Ilia. There are levels to this and Topuria showed that

Topuria was what went wrong for him

He looks comfortable walking out every fight. He was laughing in the holloway fight

Volk is use to fighting taller opponents so he could get away with back up with his chin exposed like that. Mistake obviously with someone like IIia. Plus the fact that he didn’t take enough time off. Volk was a great champion…things change

Sick shiiirrtttt \m/

If that Jai Herbert kick didn't knock Ilia out clean, Volk can't do nothing

Good idea to do these clips

These shirts. My mans is going down my playlist with every video

Its simple, Volk was trying to slip Ilia's right hand instead of trying to block it. He was doing a good job UNTIL Ilia got him up against the fence. Volk couldn't slip backwards because the space wasn't there. Since he wasn't blocking with his hand he unfortunately got hit with the big right. Also, Ilia wasn't throwing combos early, he lulled Volk into a false sense of security and then struck when Volk was up against the fence.

Volk can definitely come back, but the same might happen again. He should give his brain ample time to heal before fighting. Same happened to Stipe, a seemingly innocuous shot turned his lights out, and he came back and ate worse in the rematches and won. Volk needs to focus on what's best for him, not just his Wallet.

He gave to much respect to ilias power, Volk normally doesn’t give ground that easily

Jack Slack's opinions of this fight were great.

Guru predicted this fight perfectly 😮

Volk seemed to want to collar tie when he was cornered & Ilia went to the body originally... He made the read & went to upstairs instead (I think the first time he did was the finishing shot) I assumed Volk was spamming the kicks to try & get Ilia to go southpaw in the later rounds? Happy for others to have input.. Edit: Also agree w/ people talking about the way he was backing up in straight lines, I think Rogan made a comment about Volk doing this + having his chin up

Dan, winner by sick Megadeth shirt 🤘🏼

He was a rugby player and the other guy did mma all his life. That's what went wrong

Dan hearty meal 😂

Best ever

I love Dan and his analysis, but I won't lie, Veronica in the thumbnail played a bigger role in me clicking on this video

Dan, when are you going to wear a Motorhead t-shirt?

Is that dan?

As always Dan Hardy got the predictions wrong.

What went wrong. Alex let Ilia to come too close 😅

There's a reason why nobody in the UFC has won a championship fight at 35 or older to a younger man at 155 and below. It just doesn't happen. Maybe one day we might see someone be able to achieve that but for now that stat is undefeated.

It could still work out Volk's way. Ilia doesn't sound like he's in any hurry to fight. He's called out $$Conor$$ which is just never going to happen...especially at FW. And, if not at FW, why would Conor fight Ilia? But there is mooted to be a card in Spain later this year. The UFC would want Ilia on that card. And it could give Volk well over 6 months to recover.

Volk fighting reminds me of me when I’m sparring someone way better than me, just spamming lead leg kicks because I’m scared to commit and get countered

His and hers chains, how cute.

I thought also he should be more focused instead of playing with the old man costume.

Lets go new georgian champp❤❤🇬🇪🇬🇪

Volk should retire gracefully. We don't need to see a Ferguson downfall. It's just time to let the new guys have their time in the sun. Fighting is a young mans game.

Haven't watched you your podcast in a while tbh mate ,is this person an co host ? Not working I'm afraid

PLEASE PLEASE DAN tell mne, why does Volk have CRAIG JONES always in camp and the HICKMANS flying into Camp then NOT grapple?? Not even shoot? I'd have thought 10mins of grappling wd take some pop outta illia?

Bothbthe return of usman AND Volk after a Ko ptoved that Even if you are #1 P4P you are also still human and will affect uou no matter what.

Volks mistake was trying to beat ilia at his own game, he shouldn’t have relied so heavily on the Philly shell for his defense, ESPECIALLY not up against the cage. Should’ve tried to clinch, shoot or dip out of there like Bryce mitchell

Because of internet trolls saying "hater" after any critique, actual pro fighters and analysts before making their point feel they have to qualify themselves by saying "I'm a volk fan, but..." Thanks trolls

I said exactly the same thing. Volk, TAKEDOWN NOW! Oh well. I think he is like many before him, bored of wining. Who knew that even winning becomes monotonous, eh. Izzy against Strickland felt the same. McGregor. Gustafsson. etc. Then they start thinking, what kind of life am I leading; getting beat up for a living especially after having enough money! Keeps things fresh for the fans I guess.

I was 99% sure ilia would win. Volk is 35, no one 155 or below has ever won a title fight when they’re 35 or over and he got KOd recently. He looked like someone scared of being knocked out even if it was subconscious. Amazed so many picked him.

Ilia is good but Volk is great. It's AGE that he has run into, and time is ruthless.

Volk got caught being dumb backing up in lines, instead of circling off, he rather wanted to counter punch O'Malley to Aljo style.

The coping and excuses people have post fight and prefight are hilarious. Volk only looked nervouse the first half of rnd 1, he looked amazing the second half and early 2nd, like the classic fast footwork and striking Volk. The thing is Tupuria didn't try to reset too often and didn't respect him and pushed right through all his tricks to get him up against the cage like hr does every opponent and unleash viscious combos. "Volk is gonna humble Ilia but (insert built in excuse as to why Volk will get KO'd)". Even if that second Islam fight never happened it wouldn't matter, Tupurias style is a perfect counter to Volks, evem before the 2nd Islam fight we'd see him get hurt and wobbled, maybe he would have held up for a couple more rounds but the outcome would have been the same. Ko or TKO win for Ilia. And if they rematch the exact same scenario will occur no matter how much time he takes off. Topuria really is the next level of MMA.

A year of triathlons for Volk?

You guys were not the only ones who were incorrect....

Not sure toying with two weight divisions has helped him at all.

One punch man 👊👊

Slightly biased but can we get a nice Metallica t shirt chief?

Volk looked good and was winning the fight, then got caught with a clean power shot to the jaw. Personally, I think Volk should have wrestled and ground and pound

Volk did not look himself, he looked scared. He looked like a 35 year old doubting himself after a knockout.

He looked scared

Once Topuria backed Volk to the fence and closed the distance, he was throwing wide hooks to keep him from escaping side to side. Ilia did not even care if the shots landed. It was about controlling movement. Then, he framed Volk's head w the left and short right-hooked him into the Outback. He never saw the punch. The finish was a boxing clinic.

Volk kept leaning his head back to avoid Ilia's right hand, not good striking defence at all from the supposed 'greatest 145'er to ever do it'...

NOTHING WENT WRONG.

lol ofcourse u guys "like most mma media" completely focus on what volk did badly and not on what topuria did great

Volk….the next Tony Ferguson

Volk deserves a rematch, yes. Should he? Nah. Grab 1-2 wins then fight for the title again imo.

volk needs to go back and have a proper rest and recovery . Get in the killer mind set , get the dog back in him back , at times when you have beaten people in your divison too easily you do get complacent and when you have got a hard hitter like ilia you can not go in that relaxed . He should come back at the end of 2024 , fight someone who will be not too easy but a good fight for him , get back in rhythm , then fight for the belt

Rumour has it that the Volkster is still out and has been welcomed into the Ghost Club 👻 ♠️

Trauma. Jabs will start dropping Volk

Volk looked dominant for most of his career but i feel when he got to max he was purely gane planning the 5 round fight as a main strategy and planning everything around the points and 25 minutes, not having a solid game plan, looking for a finish and having that 25 minute capability in the back pocket. Or im talking out my ass. I thought he was gonna get caugnt with the straight right, but that narrowly missed and he hit a lovely bit of tyson inspired footwork, lovely frame off the face and hit that chin... semi comprimised or not, that was a haaaard shot.

Topuria is so basic it’s just featherweight division is full of bums with no basic boxing he looks good lol

Volk actually won the first round he landed several kicks and Emporia wasn't able to really hurt him besides one leg kick so even though his movement was unusual he was successful. You should have picked Toporia tho. He had the power and submission advantage

After ko from islam it be hard to gain confidence

He got knocked the fuck out thats what went wrong

Volkanovski is another victim of too much alcohol, just like his team mate Adesanya. Imagine if Conor didn't destroy himself with Alcohol, it ruined his career.

Nothing wrong

Cut the bullshit of this was not a sharp enough Volk. Ilia is simply better - If he can do that to Volk, he will flatline Makhachev as well.

This gal doesn’t even know what she’s talking about haha

I think ilia is volks kryptonite. Volk hasn’t faced this much power before and he never had amazing defense. He was always there to be hit, left hand never protecting his chin. Maybe when he was younger he could’ve taken more damage but in a 5 round fight against illia he probably at least gets dropped once or twice. That being said I think Sean is ilia's kryptonite. I think illia will have a hard time with taller opponents. Styles make fights. Volk should fight Aljo next at a higher weight class.

Stop making excuses for Volk and just realize Illia is better. My god.

Veronica seems like such an awesome person and certainly knows her stuff, but just can't listen to her.

To me volks plan on paper made sense, but volk does not have the attributes to pull it off. Keeping the range long, away from boxing range, using kicks to chop at his legs and get in the way of his boxing is clever. Particularly considering ilias previous vulnerability to head kicks, but again, for someone of volks frame that plan seems idiotic. Volks legs are short enough where ilia is still in boxing range, or close enough to step into it, while volk is kicking him, which led to volk being caught multiple times, and eventually slept. And volk always leaning back with his chin up, again is something taller guys can get away with, but he was still in range the whole time. Basically if somebody like Yair was fighting ilia I'd say the same gameplay would be significantly more effective, but volk doesn't have the tools for it.

Volk was winning the fight what are you people talking about. He was about to be up 2 rounds.

To everyone saying no one is giving Ilia his credit… they need to do the rematch and only then will we know. Adesanya came back and whooooooopppppeeeeddd Pereira 🤷‍♂️

Go for a takedown? What you mean, Ilia would murder Volk on the mat.

he got punched in the head genius

How was anyone picking volk? There is no way volk was going to beat him. Ilia’s ground game is way better than volk. And, his hands are 100x’s better than volk. Volk has zero KO power so what does ilia have to fear? A calf kick?? Come on…this was easy money