Before becoming a successful full-time MMA athlete, Alexander Volkanovski used to play Rugby. Here is everything you need to know about his rugby career and how it helped him in MMA.
Volkanovski started his Rugby career at the age of 14 as a front-rower for the Warilla Gorillas in the South Coast Rugby League.
Volkanovski won 'Man of the Match' in his league's version of the Super Bowl and also notched 'Player of the Year' honors.
During his rugby career, Volkanovski weighed 214 lbs. When he made his transition to MMA at the age of 23, 'The Great' worked hard to lose over 66 lbs to make his way to the featherweight division as it has 145 lbs weight limit.
Volkanovski never backed down in his rugby career, even when he had to play against bigger guys. As a result, it helped him to have a mentality of never backing down from a fight.
'The Great' Volkanovski carried that mentality throughout his MMA career and now is the current UFC featherweight champion.