Volkanovski once tipped the scales at 100kg as a rugby player
Alex Volkanovski is the 5ft 6in MMA superstar who once tipped the scales at 100kg as a rugby player… now he’s siding with Zuckerberg over Musk and wants to fight Conor McGregor as he defends his UFC title in Las Vegas
- Alexander Volkanovski once weighed 100kg and only started MMA training at 22
- Now, he is a UFC featherweight world champion and one of the best in the sport
- He wants to fight Conor McGregor and is hoping to train Mark Zuckerberg
Alexander Volkanovski headlines UFC 290 this weekend at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas against Yair Rodriguez.
The promotion’s reigning featherweight champion is widely considered to be one of the best fighters in the sport and is ranked at No 2 in the UFC pound-for-pound ratings.
But his journey to the top hasn’t exactly been conventional.
Before making the transition to mixed martial arts he was a semi-professional rugby player and tipped the scales at 100kg despite only standing 5 foot 6 inches tall.
Former Warilla Gorilla teammate Ngatai Hetet told the Athletic how Volkanovski used to crumple men far bigger than him
Alexander Volkanovski is the UFC featherweight champion and has never lost at 145lb
Alexander Volkanovski (bottom) was a completely different size during his rugby league days
At his heaviest, Volkanovski almost tipped the scales at 100kg before cutting down to 65kg
‘[His opposition was] three times bigger, and he was the best in the whole league,’ said Hetet. ‘These guys are heavyweights like Brock Lesnar.
‘Alex would just carry blokes. He would always fend a player off. He was unbelievable. If he had an extra foot, he would definitely be in the [National Rugby League].
‘He didn’t give a f*** about how big people were. He would just run the ball all day. He had no fear, no matter how big they were.
‘And even if someone twice the size of him started picking on him or tried to fight him, he would clean them up. You wouldn’t want to pick a fight with him, no matter how big they were.
‘There was a guy named Shrek who was probably the biggest in the league. Almost 7 foot and 150 kilos. He and Alex ended up having a bit of a scuffle, a bit of a fight. Because Alex was so short, he had to jump up to try to punch him in the head.
‘But Alex had no fear. He didn’t care how big you were. If you wanted to have a fight, Alex would.’
At 22 years of age he started training in MMA to keep fit during the rugby league off season and quickly fell in love with the sport.
So much so, that he decided to ditch rugby for fighting a year later and hasn’t looked back since.
A promising Greco-Roman wrestler in his youth, Volkanovski took to MMA like a duck to water.
Volkanovski has only lost once inside the UFC against lightweight champion Islam Makhachev
Volkanovski is undefeated at 145lb and has beaten some of the best fighters in the sport
During a 27-fight professional career stretching from 2012, Volkanovski has only lost twice; an early encounter against the relatively unknown Corey Nelson and his most recent fight versus UFC lightweight champion Islam Makhachev.
However, at his natural home of featherweight he remains undefeated and ranks among the best 145lbers of all time.
Volkanovski has fought and beaten, all but one of the division’s former title holders from his era.
That one being Conor McGregor, who the Aussie is desperate to face inside the cage.
When asked who his dream fight is during an appearance on the MMA Fan Podcast, he said: ‘It’s pretty easy for me in saying Conor McGregor because he was in featherweight.
‘He was a featherweight. We’ve got to remember the champions I’ve beat. I’ve beat every other champion in the featherweight division.
‘The only champ I haven’t fought in the featherweight division is Conor McGregor.’
These comments would spark a row on social media between the pair shortly after. ‘Let’s do it at Lightweight,’ Volkanovski wrote on Twitter.
‘Lol afraid,’ fired back McGregor. But Volkanovski refused to back down.
‘Anytime. Anywhere. Any weight!’ he replied.
‘Then why ask for 155? Also, that is my saying,’ wrote McGregor.
But Volkanovski, who has competed as high as middleweight, would get the last word in on the matter.
‘Yeah you say it, but I did it. I’ve fought at Middleweight, Welterweight, lightweight and featherweight,’ Volkanovski said.
Volkanovski wants to fight Conor McGregor, the only 145lb champ he hasn’t faced in his era
The fight is still yet to materialise and now looks very unlikely with the Irishman set to return to action at 170lb.
But one fight that could take place this year under the UFC banner is the bizarre blockbuster bout between Mark Zuckerberg and Elon Musk.
UFC president Dana White claims both men are ‘dead serious’ about facing each other in a ‘cage match’ and is keen to promote it.
Musk has already started training with former two-weight UFC champion Georges St-Pierre while Volkanovski is keen to help out his old pal Zuckerberg.
The Facebook founder is a huge UFC fan and has forged an unlikely friendship with Volkanovski in recent years.
‘Yeah, he’s a mate,’ Volkanovski said last year.
‘I knew well before he made the appearance at the UFC that he’s a big fan. He loves the sport.
‘I do consider him my mate. Again, he’s a cool dude, we get along.’
Volkanovski’s manager Ash Belcastro confirmed that the pair talk together on the phone ‘quite a bit’ and that his client is open to helping Zuckerberg prepare for his billionaire bust-up.
‘We’ve hung out with Mark and spoken to him about having a fight,’ Belcastro revealed.
‘This was obviously before all the Elon Musk stuff but he’s definitely open to it and Volk would definitely be there to help him.’
Volkanovski faces Yair Rodriguez this weekend at UFC 290- graphic credit: sofascore.com
Mark Zuckerberg and Elon Musk have agreed to fight each other in a cage over social media
For now though, Volkanovski’s attention is firmly set on his upcoming clash with Rodriguez.
The Mexican warrior picked up the interim featherweight title while Volkanovski moved up to 155lb to face Makhachev and is now chasing his undisputed crown.
Rodriguez is riding a two-fight win streak and has won eight out of his last ten.
He is noted for unpredictability and wild unorthodox strikes as seen in his barn burner against ‘The Korean Zombie’ Jung Chan-sung.
With just one second remaining in the fight, Rodriguez threw a Hail Mary elbow while ducking low that landed perfectly on his adversaries chin and sent him to sleep.
The knockout is among the craziest stoppages in the history of the sport.
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