Alexander Volkanovski

Alexander Volkanovski (born 29 September 1988) is an Australian professional mixed martial artist. He currently competes in the Featherweight division of the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC), where he is the former UFC Featherweight Champion. He is also a former Australian Fighting Championship (AFC) Featherweight champion. Prior to his UFC debut, Volkanovski competed as a professional boxer in 2015. As of 20 February 2024, he is #1 in the UFC featherweight rankings and as of 16 April 2024, he is #7 in the UFC men's pound-for-pound rankings.

Background
Volkanovski was born on 29 September 1988, in Wollongong, New South Wales. His father was born in the village of Beranci in Yugoslavia, SR Macedonia (now North Macedonia) while his mother is from Greece. Alex began training in Greco-Roman wrestling at an early age and won a national title twice at the age of 12. He decided to give up wrestling at the age of 14 and instead focused on a career in rugby league as a front rower. Volkanovski attended Lake Illawarra High School throughout his teenage years and worked as a concreter after graduation.

He played semi-professional rugby league for the Warilla Gorillas in the Group 7 Rugby League where he was awarded the Mick Cronin Medal in 2010 as the league's best player. He also played a crucial role in Warilla's 2011 Premiership winning season and received the Man of the Match award for his performance in his team's Grand Final victory over Gerringong. Volkanovski then decided to quit rugby league at 23 years of age to pursue a professional career in Mixed Martial Arts in the latter half of 2011. He claims to have watched Ultimate Fighting Championship events since childhood and would often rent UFC VHS tapes from Blockbuster as well as purchase UFC pay per views from 14 years of age.

Coach Joe Lopez said Volkanovski started training in MMA at the age of 22 and Greco-Roman wrestling to keep fit during the rugby league off season, where he weighed 97 kg. However, he soon realized he had a passion for the sport and wanted to go as far as he could. Volkanovski quickly became a good counter striker with a powerful overhand right as well as a fantastic offensive wrestler. He initially competed in multiple amateur fights in the middleweight division as he adjusted from his rugby weight before turning professional and moving down to welterweight, lightweight and ultimately the featherweight division.

"There are no excuses in fighting. You can be playing a team sport and have a good game, and you can lose. In fighting, it’s all on me. If I go out there and lose, then it’s my fault. I like that. So I know if I fight well, I’m going to win. I definitely love the fact that it’s all on you, and you do what you have to do to win. Each fight is like a grand final in the rugby league."

Volkanovski is based at Freestyle Fighting Gym in Wollongong but regularly completes training camps at Tiger Muay Thai and Bangtao Muay Thai & MMA in Phuket and City Kickboxing in Auckland with fellow UFC fighters, former UFC Middleweight Champion Israel Adesanya, Dan Hooker and Kai Kara-France. Members of Volkanovski's team have included Eugene Bareman and Craig Jones.

Early career
Starting as an amateur at middleweight and going 4–0 before turning professional, Volkanovski has fought in various MMA organizations in the Oceania region in Asia from 2012 to July 2016 before signing with the UFC. He won a Pacific Xtreme Combat (PXC) title and two Australian Fighting Championship (AFC) Featherweight titles. Volkanovski amassed a record of 13–1 with 10 straight wins prior to joining the UFC.

Ultimate Fighting Championship
Volkanovski made his promotional debut on 26 November 2016, and increased his win streak to 11 with a second-round TKO against Yusuke Kasuya at UFC Fight Night 101. He announced at the post-fight press conference that he would drop from lightweight to featherweight for his next fight.

Move down to Featherweight
Volkanovski was expected to face Michel Quiñones on 19 February 2017 at UFC Fight Night 105. However, the bout was scrapped after Quiñones suffered an injury and no replacement could be found.

Volkanovski returned to Featherweight and faced Mizuto Hirota on 11 June 2017 at UFC Fight Night 110. He won the fight via unanimous decision after almost finishing Hirota following a knockdown.

Volkanovski was expected to face Jeremy Kennedy at UFC Fight Night: Werdum vs. Tybura on 19 November 2017, in Sydney, Australia. However, Kennedy pulled out of the fight on 5 October, citing a back injury and was replaced by Humberto Bandenay. In November 2017, it was announced that Bandenay would delay his UFC debut at this event due to undisclosed reasons, and was replaced by Drex Zamboanga. In turn, Zamboanga pulled out of the fight due to visa issues and was replaced by promotional newcomer Shane Young. The bout proceeded at a catchweight of 150 pounds. Volkanovski won the fight via unanimous decision.

The bout with Kennedy was rescheduled and took place on 11 February 2018 at UFC 221. He won the fight via technical knockout.

Volkanovski faced Darren Elkins on 14 July 2018 at UFC Fight Night 133. He won the fight via unanimous decision.

Volkanovski faced Chad Mendes on 29 December 2018 at UFC 232. He won the fight via technical knockout in round two after surviving two knockdowns himself. This fight earned him the Fight of the Night award.

Volkanovski faced former featherweight champion José Aldo at UFC 237 on 11 May 2019. He won the fight via unanimous decision.

Volkanovski vs. Holloway
Volkanovski faced Max Holloway on 14 December 2019, for the UFC Featherweight Championship at UFC 245. Volkanovski won the fight via unanimous decision.

Volkanovski vs. Holloway 2
Volkanovski made his first title defense in a rematch against Max Holloway on 11 July 2020 at UFC 251. He won the fight via split decision. This outcome was controversial amongst media outlets, with 18 out of 27 media scores giving it to Holloway,  mixed martial arts personalities such as UFC president Dana White, former referee and creator of the rules system John McCarthy,   and multiple mixed martial artists.

Volkanovski vs. Ortega
Volkanovski was scheduled to make his second title defense against Brian Ortega on 27 March 2021 at UFC 260. However, the fight was canceled due to COVID-19 protocols. Volkanovski later tweeted that he tested positive for COVID-19.

On 2 April 2021, it was announced that Brian Ortega and Volkanovski would be the coaches for The Ultimate Fighter 29 at ESPN+ and the show featured bantamweight and middleweight contestants.

Volkanovski faced Brian Ortega on 25 September 2021, at UFC 266 for the UFC Featherweight Championship. He won the fight via unanimous decision. Volkanovski received universal praise for escaping multiple submission attempts and persevering. This fight earned him the Fight of the Night award.

Volkanovski vs. The Korean Zombie
Volkanovski was scheduled to face Max Holloway for a third time on 5 March 2022, at UFC 272. However, a day after the announcement, Holloway was forced to pull from the event due to injury. Holloway was replaced by Chan Sung Jung and the title bout was moved to UFC 273 on 9 April 2022. After knocking Jung down multiple times, Volkanovski won the fight via TKO in the fourth round. The win earned him the Performance of the Night award. The fight also earned him second place in the Crypto.com "Fan Bonus of the Night" award.

Volkanovski vs. Holloway 3
The trilogy bout against Holloway was rescheduled at UFC 276 on 2 July 2022. Volkanovski won the bout via unanimous decision, with all three judges scoring the fight 50–45. This win earned him the Crypto.com Fan Bonus of the Night second-place award, which paid the bitcoin equivalent of US$20,000.

Volkanovski vs. Makhachev
Volkanovski moved up a weight class to challenge Islam Makhachev for the UFC Lightweight Championship on 12 February 2023 at UFC 284. He lost the fight via unanimous decision. This fight earned him the Fight of the Night award.

Volkanovski vs. Rodríguez
Volkanovski returned to featherweight and faced interim featherweight champion Yair Rodríguez in a title unification bout for the UFC Featherweight Championship on 8 July 2023 at UFC 290. He won the fight via TKO in round three.

Volkanovski vs. Makhachev 2
Volkanovski was next scheduled to face Ilia Topuria on 20 January 2024 to defend his UFC Featherweight Championship at UFC 297. However, before that bout took place, Volkanovski was tapped to step in on 10 days notice to face UFC Lightweight Champion Islam Makhachev in a rematch, on 21 October 2023, at UFC 294, as a replacement for an injured Charles Oliveira. He lost the fight via head kick knockout in round one.

Volkanovski vs. Topuria
Following the short notice rematch with Makhachev, the bout with Ilia Topuria was initially expected to continue forward and take place on its original date of 20 January 2024 at UFC 297. However, it was later pushed back one month to headline UFC 298 on 17 February 2024 instead. Volkanovski lost the championship by knockout in the second round.

Professional boxing career
Volkanovski has a single boxing bout, which was a Super welterweight bout he won by unanimous decision in four rounds against Dillon Bargero.

Personal life
Volkanovski is married. He appeared as a coach in Malaysia Invasion, an amateur MMA reality show. Because of his paternal Macedonian and maternal Greek heritage, he uses the nickname "The Great" in reference to Alexander the Great, claiming that he had "a Macedonian father and a Greek mother", similar to himself.

Volkanovski has his own YouTube channel.

Mixed martial arts

 * Ultimate Fighting Championship
 * UFC Featherweight Championship (One time)
 * Five successful title defenses
 * Second most title fight wins in UFC Featherweight division history (6)
 * First Australian-born fighter to win a UFC championship
 * Fight of the Night (Three times) vs. Chad Mendes, Brian Ortega, and Islam Makhachev 1
 * UFC Honors 2023 Fight of the Year vs. Islam Makhachev 1
 * UFC.com 2023 Fight of the Year vs. Islam Makhachev 1
 * Performance of the Night (One time) vs. Chan Sung Jung
 * Second longest win streak in UFC Featherweight division history (11)
 * Highest striking differential in UFC Featherweight division history (2.96)
 * Longest average fight time in UFC Featherweight division history (16:54)
 * Third most significant strikes landed in UFC Featherweight division history (1367)
 * Fourth most total strikes landed in UFC Featherweight division history (1561)
 * Third highest significant strike percentage in UFC Featherweight division history (56.5%)
 * Fourth most strikes landed per minute in UFC Featherweight division history (6.74)
 * Most leg kicks landed in a fight in UFC Featherweight division history (75 vs Max Holloway 1)
 * Second most leg kicks landed in a fight in UFC Featherweight division history (67 vs Max Holloway 2)
 * Most total leg strikes landed in a fight in UFC Featherweight division history (81 vs Jose Aldo)
 * Second most total leg strikes landed in a fight in UFC Featherweight division history (75 vs Max Holloway 1)
 * Third most total leg strikes landed in a fight in UFC Featherweight division history (67 vs Max Holloway 2)
 * UFC Men's Pound-For-Pound No. 1 in 2022 & 2023
 * 2022 Fighter of the Year
 * Crypto.com
 * Fan Bonus of the Night vs. Chan Sung Jung
 * Australian Fighting Championship
 * Australian Fighting Championship Featherweight Champion (one time; former)
 * One successful title defense
 * Cage Conquest
 * Cage Conquest Welterweight Champion
 * Pacific Xtreme Combat
 * PXC Featherweight Champion
 * Roshambo MMA
 * Roshambo MMA Lightweight Champion
 * Roshambo MMA Welterweight Champion
 * Wollongong Wars
 * Wollongong Wars Lightweight Champion
 * CombatPress.com
 * 2019 Breakout Fighter of the Year
 * World MMA Awards
 * 2019 – July 2020 Upset of the Year vs. Max Holloway at UFC 245
 * 2022 Charles 'Mask' Lewis Fighter of the Year
 * 2022 International Fighter of the Year
 * 2023 Fight of the Year vs. Islam Makhachev at UFC 284
 * MMAjunkie.com
 * 2021 September Fight of the Month vs. Brian Ortega
 * 2023 Fight of the Year vs. Islam Makhachev at UFC 284
 * ESPN
 * 2021 Fight of the Year vs. Brian Ortega
 * 2023 Fight of the Year vs. Islam Makhachev at UFC 284
 * MMA Mania
 * 2021 Fight of the Year vs. Brian Ortega
 * MMA Sucka
 * 2021 Fight of the Year vs. Brian Ortega
 * BT Sport
 * 2022 Fighter of the Year
 * Cageside Press
 * 2022 Fighter of the Year
 * 2023 Fight of the Year vs. Islam Makhachev at UFC 284
 * Sherdog
 * 2023 Fight of the Year vs. Islam Makhachev at UFC 284
 * MMA Fighting
 * 2023 Fight of the Year vs. Islam Makhachev at UFC 284
 * Wrestling Observer Newsletter
 * Most Outstanding Fighter of the Year (2022)
 * 2023 MMA Match of the Year vs. Islam Makhachev at UFC 284

Amateur wrestling

 * Australian National Schools Wrestling Competition
 * Gold medal - 12/13 yrs 62 kg (2001)