(...) the age gap is seriously alarming and he could be taken out by a fighter 8 years younger than him, (...)
Volkanovski is only 35. Depending on his genetics, he could still be within his peak performance period. Writing him off, just because of that head-kick KO loss is not serious. His previous fight against Islam was widely seen as his success not failure, and he also defeated Rodriguez in between those fights,
Volkanovski is indeed pretty great UFC fighter and he has managed to keep several titles on his record, but he is fighter who can't do much when he meets Islam, I think Volkanovski has lost some of his performance as tough fighter.
He has suffered 3 defeats in the history of being UFC fighter and these defeats made Volkanovski fighter who is sometimes underestimated by many people, I really cannot forget how Volkanovski met Islam in two fights and all of them were defeats.
A knockout was the final result in the second fight at UFC 294 and it was humiliating defeat for Volkanovski, even the coach was not sure if Volkanovski would be able to beat Islam in that fight.
Next, Volkanovski will face Topuria, who is young fighter who is currently ranked 3rd in the UFC featherweight class and has never been defeated.
Volkanovski could lose to Topuria in the next meeting and I sure Topuria has prepared everything to face featherweight champion Volkanovski.