“A lot of hype around him, undefeated, I think this is just the perfect bounce-back fight for me, as well. A lot of people are saying he’s dangerous, which look, he is dangerous. He’s a powerful dude. He’s undefeated. That’s a story in itself. You’ve got the story of what happened in my last fight. People are like, ‘Oh, is he coming back too soon?’ All this is a part of the story. When I look at it, I’m like, ‘Mate, I’ve been in camp for that long. I’m hearing people saying, Oh, he’s back too soon.’ I just can’t see it.
“I’ve been busting my ass for that long. I’m like, ‘What do you mean?’ Like, I’ve had that much time. This has been a very long camp for me. Obviously I followed all the protocols after it from concussion and that like, I’m lucky enough to have a great team around me. But we followed that to a T, and that’s why the fight was pushed back a month because we just thought January was rushing. We wanted that extra month where I could ease into it and then start camp. That’s what we did.”
I like what we’re hearing from Volk here. If he loses I don’t think it’s because he rushed back - he’s facing a talented younger fighter and Volk at an age where we would expect to see some decline. I could see Volk getting caught but I could just as easily see him putting on a masterclass and schooling Topuria. That’s what makes this fight so hotly anticipated. War-Volk.
What’s his deal anyway? The has to be a reason for his inactivity and I’d be more likely to believe the Kadyrov connection makes it difficult to book him and fly him to certain parts of the world than Dana just putting him on ice for no reason. If there’s a buck to be made Dana’s going after it. Might also be that Khamzat fades hard so they’re reluctant to put him in a five rounder while the hype train is still in effect.