“Significantly quicker guy” – Joe Rogan believes Alexander Volkanovski’s speed may be a deciding factor against Islam Makhachev


“Significantly quicker guy” – Joe Rogan believes Alexander Volkanovski’s speed may be a deciding factor against Islam Makhachev

Alexander Volkanovski and Joe Rogan (L); Islam Makhachev (R) [Image Courtesy - UFC (L) and UFC's YouTube Channel (R)]

Islam Makhachev and Alexander Volkanovski agreed via handshake to fight for the lightweight title after the former’s emphatic title win over Charles Oliveira at UFC 280.

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And, within a month of their meeting inside the octagon, it was revealed by the UFC that their bout was now official. We saw the very best of Makhachev that night against Oliveira – however, the question to be asked is, where does his ceiling lie?

On other hand, Alexander Volkanovski, at 34 years old, continues to grow leaps and bounds in every fight that he features in. Case in point, his first two fights (and subsequent wins) against future Hall of Famer Max Holloway might be debatable; however, the fashion in which he completely dominated the Hawaiian in each round in their trilogy fight was simply breathtaking – it looked like the self-professed ‘best boxer in the UFC’ just could not keep up with the Australian’s speed and precision.

Now, Joe Rogan has spoken about this very aspect of Volkanovski’s game on his podcast, alongside guest Sean O’Malley, and praised him for it. He said, “Has Islam seen anybody that can move as fast as Volkanovski? What if he starts catching him? What if he catches him a few times on the feet, and if he can avoid a takedown?

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He continued, “I mean, you’re dealing with a significantly quicker guy, probably.” Rogan drives the main point home using succinct vocabulary- that is, Volkanovski’s lithe frame helps him get into pockets of space efficiently, and then he starts raining blows upon his opponent.

Related- Has Alexander Volkanovski ever competed at lightweight in his MMA career?

Joe Rogan lists one disadvantage Alexander Volkanovski may have to overcome against Islam Makhachev

Islam Makhachev (L) and Alexander Volkanovski (R) meet inside the octagon after the former's title win [Image Courtesy - Sporting News]
Islam Makhachev (L) and Alexander Volkanovski (R) meet inside the octagon after the former’s title win [Image Courtesy – Sporting News]

Alexander Volkanovski fights in the featherweight division, and Islam Makhachev, in the lightweight division. Needless to say, there will be some sort of a size difference between the two. That being said, Islam Makhachev looks enormous for his weight class, and he used that to his advantage when he put Charles Oliveira in an inescapable arm triangle submission at UFC 280.

This might be a worry for the Australian – Do you think he’s big enough to compete against a guy like Islam, who’s a really big ’55? Islam is big. I don’t know what he’s cutting, but he’s got the perfect physique for that weight class. He’s very, very lean… He doesn’t look anything like a ’55-pound guy”, Joe Rogan remarked.

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That being said, these are all hypothetical scenarios for the two that fans and experts have thought up. The truth of the matter is that, come February, we will get to see two giants of the game in action. Make sure to mark your calendars – February 12th might just be a monumental day. for the sport.

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