Mixed Martial Arts / Boxing Thread

[Risto the Great]

Which leads to Alex. Gutted about his last fight. He has the tools to take out Topuria. Hopefully the long rest will do him some good so he can come back and avenge his loss.

We haven't even seen Topuria's (widely described as formidable) wresting game yet. Volk was on his back foot the entire fight. He was fighting with a foreign game plan and he needs to get rid of the rowdy boys in his crew if he wants a chance. His solution will come from some serious soul searching. I fear the King is dead .....

[Soldier of Macedon]

I thought Chito was going to present more of a challenge, but O'Malley was just too quick and precise. He is definitely the real deal and will be a problem for others for some time to come, unless he gets brutally KO'd, which can definitely change the mentality of a fighter. Which leads to Alex. Gutted about his last fight. He has the tools to take out Topuria. Hopefully the long rest will do him some good so he can come back and avenge his loss.

[Risto the Great]

O'Malley so precise.

[Risto the Great]

He wasn’t completely fight-fit. It was a lucky kick. It was so deflating seeing our champ go down from it. Part of being a champion is being able to put all that behind him. He will rise again - he is in a league of his own.

[Soldier of Macedon]

Some say he rushed into the last fight, perhaps there is some truth to that, but I think Makhachev was extremely lucky to catch him with a kick when he is not exactly known for that technique. But, fair play to him. Unfortunately, due to that seemingly "convincing" victory, it will be difficult for Alex to get a third fight with him, although anything is possible. I still think Alex can beat him. Anyway, his next opponent has been running his mouth for a while so hopefully Alex nails it shut.

[Risto the Great]

Looking forward to Volk's next fight!

[Karposh]

Alex seems to have won over quite a few celebrity fans as well along the way. Many of them were there in Vegas supporting him ring side at UFC 290 fight night. Among them were Mel Gibson, Mark Wahlberg and Rumble CEO, Chris Pavlovski. Mel Gibson, in particular, has been a fan of Volkanovski for quite some time now and can often be seen at his fights. He was spotted chatting and wishing him all the best before his fight with Rodriguez. Also, sitting a couple of seats away from Chris Pavlovski was the Donald himself, who got a heroes welcome as he walked into the place to watch the fight. I'd like to think Trump was also there supporting Alex.

[Karposh]

He's done it again. Alex just chalked up another great win for himself, this time by TKO against Rodriguez. I didn't watch the fight but, reading some of the articles that have quickly popped up, they are saying that it was one of the best fights ever.

UFC fans were just treated to arguably the greatest main event card in the history of the sport inside T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas.

[Karposh]

Completely agree with those sentiments SoM.

That is more than one can say about the ventilator-clad northadonians on FB, who, following the fight against Makachev, were bitching about why Alex had never visited Macedonia.

I'm sure he would have visited his old man's native village of Beranci as a kid. I would be surprised if he hasn't. It's a rite of passage for every young Macedonian kid to visit their parents' village growing up. Whether he decides to visit again now, with his Australian wife and two kids, who knows, maybe he will when he feels good and ready. His girls will no doubt enjoy the experience of seeing that part of their culture. But to call him out for something like that and declare, because he hasn't visited Macedonia recently, he is not Macedonian enough is a disgrace. What a bunch of losers.

Alex does his best to stay out of the Macedonian vs Greek conflict for obvious reasons. However, aside from the relatives on his mother's side, some of his friends and other normal Greeks who are not discriminative towards Macedonians, those Greeks who have a feral obsession with Macedonia will never accept Alex (just take a look at the comment made by some moron in that YouTube link you posted, as a simple example). How could they, he represents the very thing they hate, somebody who his not ashamed of his Macedonian heritage. Somebody who calls himself Alexander the Great, not just because his mother is Greek, but mainly because his father is Macedonian.

I'm glad you mentioned this, and I'll tie it in with the comments that you made regarding the Partizan fans from one of the other threads. Before I do, I just want to stress that the last thing I want to do is play devil's advocate or be seen as favouring any one group over another. However, it's an issue I find difficult to navigate at times. I've had my share of heated and ugly debates with both Greeks and Serbs on Youtube and other forums but, the thing is, there are also Greeks & Serbs that are genuinely normal and not blinded by nationalism, which sometimes throw me a bit. It's these people that I hate to offend to be honest. A good example of this can be seen on the Macedonian video of monks from The Bigor Monastery singing the beautiful Orthodox hymn "In the midst of the desert beauty". This video has had over 2.2 million views and the comments come from all over the world including Russians, Serbs, Greeks and even Bulgarians. All of them are positive and include nothing but praises. Many of the Greek comments on there (& there's a lot) are written in Greek and, just when I think, okay here we go, I am pleasantly surprised by the google translations. They all call for respect and peace between Macedonians and Greeks as Orthodox brothers. The Serb comments are simply "Bravo bracho Makedonci" while the Bulgarians too, share the same type of sentiments.

[Soldier of Macedon]

I found this video from about two years ago in which Volkanovski states that he would more than likely have been playing with the Macedonian Lions Rugby League team if he wasn't involved in MMA. The audio is a bit crap but it's around the 12 minute mark.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Rr_FnuxBhrI

Here is my take, for what it is worth. Alex is not ashamed of his Macedonian heritage or its true symbols, like the Macedonian sun. That is more than one can say about the ventilator-clad northadonians on FB, who, following the fight against Makachev, were bitching about why Alex had never visited Macedonia. This, of course, from the same idiots who probably voted to change the official state name of Macedonia or did jack shit when it happened. But they were not alone. In unison with the abovementioned idiots, some ethnic Albanians from Macedonia also joined the northadonian bitchfest, partly for the same reason (like they could give a shit either way), but mostly because they were supporting their co-religionist against Alex.

Something further on the last point. Alex always makes it a point to express his Australian patriotism. It is the country of his birth. In many ways, he is a unifier, because, in most cases, Australians from whatever heritage like and support him. At the place I watched the fight, most of the patrons were Macedonians and Aussies. There were also others like Asians, Polynesians and Indians. Everybody went for Alex because he represented Australia and of course, the Macedonians doubly so because of his heritage. Then there was a smaller group of Arabs, who were also Australian-born. They were ecstatic when Makachev got the nod by the judges, not because he is an Arab, but because he is a Muslim. Makes you wonder. When Khabib fought against Gaethje, I went for Khabib because I thought he was the better fighter, and his story was more interesting. Gaethje is also a great fighter, but I did not throw my support behind him just because he has a Christian cross tattooed on his arm. But, whatever.

Alex does his best to stay out of the Macedonian vs Greek conflict for obvious reasons. However, aside from the relatives on his mother's side, some of his friends and other normal Greeks who are not discriminative towards Macedonians, those Greeks who have a feral obsession with Macedonia will never accept Alex (just take a look at the comment made by some moron in that YouTube link you posted, as a simple example). How could they, he represents the very thing they hate, somebody who is not ashamed of his Macedonian heritage. Somebody who calls himself Alexander the Great, not just because his mother is Greek, but mainly because his father is Macedonian. Let's face it, were it not for his father, he would not be using that nickname. Alex has nothing against his mother's heritage and at times speaks of it, however, he seems to be more disposed towards his father's heritage, which is entirely natural, and is, in most cases, the way of the world. Macedonian kids in this country idolise him because they see a world champion with a Macedonian surname who is born in Australia and calls himself Alexander the Great. He has the support of the Macedonian community in Australia. They can identify with him. They treat him as one of their own, and rightfully so. And, contrary to Greeks of the feral kind, they do not feel the need to endlessly whine about the heritage of his other parent.

We do not need or want him to hate the Greek half of his heritage. We just need him to respect his Macedonian heritage. So far, he has done that. And so long as he does that, the Macedonians of Australia that follow MMA will always have his back.

[Karposh]

I found this video from about two years ago in which Volkanovski states that he would more than likely have been playing with the Macedonian Lions Rugby League team if he wasn't involved in MMA. The audio is a bit crap but it's around the 12 minute mark.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Rr_FnuxBhrI

[Karposh]

Not one person, such as the founder, chairman or secretary is aware of how detrimental the prefix is to the identity of the country and nation? Not one of them has bothered to check the website that represents their club? Doubtful on both counts, but if it's an innocent mistake that hasn't been noticed due to negligence, then it needs to be rectified immediately, lest it leave a lasting and embarrassing stain. It's not that hard to be consistent. Best of luck to them.

The Macedonian Rugby League team played just across the road from where my sister lives over the weekend. Unfortunately, I missed it as I don’t follow them and had no idea they were playing. My sister lives just across the road from the Southern Districts Rugby Club, a very popular local club that attracts decent size crowds each weekend. There was a bigger crowd than usual yesterday afternoon and, after curiosity got the better of him, my brother-in-law decided to stroll over to get a better look, only to see Macedonian flags being waved all over the place. He decided to pay the $10 entry fee and watch the game on a lazy Sunday afternoon between the Macedonian Lions and the team representing Malta.

This prompted me to visit their website again and it looks like they have cleaned it up quite a bit and done some significant changes since I was last on there. There are no more ventilators to be seen at all and the only mention of a “North” Macedonia is in the fine print at the very bottom of each page. My guess is that they couldn’t register their team as just Macedonia, but I’ve watched some of the post-match interviews with the coaching staff and the players and they never ever utter the word “North” in any of their interviews. I never did get a response to my constructive criticism and suggestions that I put to the club last year but it’s nice to see the website is looking pretty good now. Not sure why the “North” has been imposed on the team representing every Macedonian from geographic Macedonia in Australia but, if there is a consolation at all, it is in the fact that you have to look pretty darn hard to spot the “North” prefix. Incidentally, I noticed Alexander Volkanovski is pictured on the site as well with someone associated with the Macedonia team. He can also be seen celebrating with the players on one of the Facebook fan pages that I stumbled onto.

For those Macedonians that are not from NSW, you have to realise that the Macedonian Rugby League team has managed to gather within their ranks a star-studded coaching staff with the likes of former premiership winning coach with Cronulla, Shane Flanagan and ex-Cronulla team captain, Paul Gallon (among others). Also assisting the team is 2GB’s radio personality, Mark Levy. Mark Levy is in fact the team’s president who doesn’t waste a chance to plug the Macedonian Lions on the airwaves. Just listen to the following podcast (warms the heart):

https://www.2gb.com/the-new-coaching-gig-reigniting-shane-flanagans-passion-for-rugby-league/

The team is improving constantly and there is a very real chance we could see them play in the 2025 Rugby League World Cup to be hosted in France. That is why the coaching staff are so passionate about building this team up and getting them to a point where they can vie for a spot in the World Cup. It’s not such a ridiculous notion if you realise that even Lebanon (i.e. Aussie Lebos) has managed to qualify for the World Cup.

https://www.macedonianrugbyleague.com/

[Dejan]

Volk is an absolute machine. His stock would have went up after that performance, regardless of the result. Very inspirational stuff.

[Soldier of Macedon]

Rogan thought Volk had it.

https://twitter.com/itsavibe/status/1624656850842009600?s=46&t=Jt4ZBEGc9WahkOsV0XsCVw

No shame in the Volk's performance at all. What a warrior.

It was a very close fight. Many thought that Alex won (including Rogan and co., it would seem). Especially in the closing minutes with Alex pounding him from on top and Islam looking deflated at the end of the fight. Two judges scored it 48-47 whereas the third, clearly a moron, scored it 49-46, which is ridiculous. No matter the official outcome, Alex just proved all of the doubters wrong and also put a huge dent in the boogeyman image of Dagestani wrestlers. He was expected to be choked out within the first couple of rounds, instead, he never looked in danger of being submitted and toughed his way through the fight. His tenacity is second to none. Let Alex defend his featherweight title, then bring on the rematch with Islam.

[kompir]

It could have gone either way, Волкот е машина