At the time of writing, the Australian-born mixed martial artist Alexander Volkanovski is the current UFC Featherweight Champion. He rose to prominence in the division with a 7 fight win streak over such greats as Jose Aldo and Chad Mendes. He has since continued his streak as champion and is now on a 10 fight win streak in the UFC.
Amassing a record of 23-1 at the time of writing, Alexander Volkanovski looks to continue his streak and stake his claim as one of the best to ever do it. Volkanovskis's dominant reign over the Featherweight division is only made more interesting by an understanding of what makes him tick as a person.
10 Nickname: The Great
Born and raised in New South Wales Australia, Volkanovski adopted "The Great" moniker, because his first name matched that of the legendary Macedonian warlord. It also hails from his father's Macedonian heritage and his mother's Greek heritage.
His early UFC dominance fits well with the nickname as well. An unbeaten 10 and 0 in the UFC at the time of writing, Volkanovskis's career certainly lives up to the level of dominance portrayed in his nickname.
9 Greco-Roman Wrestling
As a kid, Volkanovski was primarily interested in Greco-Roman wrestling. He quickly became immensely talented as a wrestler and at the age of 12 won a national title. Volkanovski also claims that Greco-Roman wrestling is one of the main influences in his reasoning for becoming a mixed martial artist.
As a mixed martial artist, he relies on his wrestling to bring his high-pressure style into the octagon. Using Greco-Roman wrestling as a base for MMA is not unheard of, greats like Randy Couture, Dan Henderson, and Chael Sonnen have all relied on their background as a Greco-roman wrestlers.
8 Rugby
In his early years, Volkanovski's primary focus was rugby. He competed in a semi-professional rugby league where he won the Man of the Match award in the 2011 Grand Final victory for his Warilla Gorillas.
The insane thing about his rugby league success is the weight he cut to get down to his 145 lbs featherweight stature, because in the rugby league he weighed about 214 lbs. Volkanovski may have carried over a ruthless attitude and sheer power from his days as a rugby leaguer.
7 Boxing
Alexander Volkanovski also made his professional boxing debut in 2015. He faced Dillon Bargero in New South Wales, Australia. Volanovski ended up winning the bout via unanimous decision in the super welterweight bout.
His UFC career took off roughly a year after his successful boxing debut. Although successful in his boxing debut, it was most likely a stint to tide him over and keep him busy as a fighter. Don't expect Volkanovski to be calling out any professional boxers any time soon.
6 Early MMA Career
Volkanovski took 14 professional fights before being called up to the UFC where he ended up going 13-1. His only loss was in the welterweight division, which is two divisions above the division he currently holds the title in.
During his stint in the Australian MMA scene, Volkanovski beat Jamie Mullarkey who also went on to fight in the UFC. Volkanovski's rise to success during this time made him an inspiring influence in the rise in popularity of Oceanic MMA.
5 Undefeated in the UFC
10 straight wins in the promotion, defeating the most dominant featherweight champ ever Max Holloway twice, as well as defeating greats like Jose Aldo and Chad Mendes. Volkanovski's rise to the top is nothing short of spectacular.
He started his UFC run in November 2016 and didn't look back. Tearing through the competition and in 3 short years, he won his first title and has successfully defended it twice so far, including wins over Brian Ortega and Max Holloway.
4 Trains Out Of Multiple Locations
Volkanovski is an interesting fighter because he actively trains out of multiple gyms. He is based in Wollongong, Australia where he trains at the Freestyle Fighting Gym where he coaches beginners and other fighters as well.
Although based out of Australia, he regularly travels to Thailand to train in Tiger Muay Thai with Valentina Schevchenko, and to Auckland, New Zealand where he trains with Israel Adesanya, Dan Hooker, and the crew over at City Kickboxing.
3 Holloway Fights
Volkanovski first faced Max Holloway in a close bout in December 2019 for the featherweight title. Volkanovski used a pressure style with heavy leg kicks to neutralize Holloway's boxing-focused pressure style. Volaknovski won via unanimous decision.
The pair then immediately had a rematch in July 2020. Volkanovski stated in the lead-up he would finish Max. Max dropped Volkanovski twice in the fight, but Volkanovski was able to secure the win via split decision with his strong wrestling and masterful leg kicks.
2 The Ultimate Fighter
After his fights with Holloway, Volkanovski was looking to take on new talent in the division. He was then matched up against Brian Ortega as a coach on the Ultimate Fighter. He showed his humorous side by going full nude for a prank on Ortega and by playing with the snakes that Ortega brought in to prank him.
Volkanovski's fighters won both the middleweight (Bryan Battle) and bantamweight (Ricky Turcios) brackets of the show and Volkanovski beat Brian Ortega in an intense fight to retain his title.
1 UFC Championship
Volkanovski has retained his 145 lbs belt for the better part of 3 years, even coming off of a battle with COVID-19 that left him sidelined for 6 months. He has defended his belt twice against some of the toughest in the division and is looking to stay active.
He has even considered a move to the lightweight division. If he were able to capture the lightweight title, he would be the 5th UFC fighter ever to be a champion in two divisions at one time.