Jacob Volkmann just won’t go away.
Despite toiling on the undercard ever since UFC 108, the politically outspoken Minnesota native continues to win in what is arguably the promotion’s most densely talented division.
In fact, Volkmann’s gone 6-1 in the UFC ever since dropping from welterweight to lightweight. But does that make him one of the division’s top fighters?
No, not by a country mile.
In fact, Volkmann’s not a top-10 lightweight by two country miles.
See, the problem with calling Volkmann an elite UFC fighter is that you have to quantify such a statement based on who he’s beaten, not just the winning streak alone.
Yes, it’s impressive that he’s only lost once in 30 months and seven fights—but just look at caliber of opponents he’s fighting.
Out of the six men Volkmann has defeated, only three of them are still with the UFC.
Ronys Torres and Antonio McKee were also dropped from the company right after losses to Volkmann. That’s never a good sign for any preliminary fighter, since it usually means they could’ve been on the chopping block with a loss.
(Side note: Ronys Torres has gone on a 10-fight winning streak in the regional circuit. For a 26-year-old fighter, that’s not bad. Some of those guys were decent, too. He even beat Drew Fickett.)
Moreover, all six of the men Volkmann defeated have a combined UFC record of 14-17, with the most high-profile opponent being either Danny Castillo or Efrain Escudero.
Not exactly a pair of world beaters.
Even though he’s winning most of his fights, Volkmann hasn’t beaten the kind of opponents that should elevate him into the top 10 at lightweight.
At the very minimum, he’ll have to beat a much more valuable opponent like Matt Wiman, TJ Grant or Jim Miller.
Heck, I’ll eat my hat if “Christmas” can beat someone like Melvin Guillard.
Jacob Volkmann’s not anywhere close to the top of the 155-pound division yet. UFC matchmaker Joe Silva will have to stop feeding him the lower end of the food chain first.
[McKinley Noble is an MMA conspiracy theorist and FightFans Radio writer. His work has appeared in GamePro, Macworld and PC World. Talk with him on Twitter.]
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