Alexander Volkanovski was a 214 pounds Rugby player. The man who will go down in the history as one of the best UFC featherweight fighters to ever step foot inside the UFC Octagon wasn’t always aiming for the MMA gold.

At the age of 14, Volkanovski decided to play Rugby to hang out with his friend.

During one of his conversations with Joe Rogan, he suggested, “I wanted to play football with my mates, and I’ve got over wearing the tights, you know wrestling and stuff like that. So… yeah, I end up just playing football with my mates.” Also, Volkanovski offered that he was good at Rugby.

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So, which rugby team did Alexander Volkanovski play for? Let’s find out about his Rugby League career.

Alexander Volkanovski: Rugby league

The Aussie played Rugby league down under. Volkanovski played South Coast Group 7 Rugby League.

An interesting fact about Volkanovski is that he use to train and compete in MMA in between his Rugby league matches.

Alexander Volkanovski: Rugby team

For a while, Volkanovski played for the Illawarra Steelers and the Country team and Southern Division and Group 7 rep sides. Later, Alexander Volkanovski, who dreamt of playing in the NRL, played for the Warilla-Lake South J.R.L.F.C. under 14’s Premiers in 2002 and donned the number 10 jersey.

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At Warilla-Lake South Gorillas, Alexander Volkanovski won a recognition Medal (Mick Cronin medal) in 2010 as the league’s best player. Also, for his final season in 2011, he won the man of the match in the Group 7 Grand finals for contributing to the team’s victory.

Alexander Volkanovski: Rugby weight

The UFC’s 145 pound champion was around 214-215 pounds during his active season in the Rugby league.

Even after his transition to MMA, Volkanovski’s weight varied from 185 to 145 as he competed in four divisions in MMA.

Alexander Volkanovski: Rugby position

The featherweight champion was brilliant on the Rugby field. Volkanovski played as the forward (prop), front row in the position in the Rugby league down under.

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The Front rower position is meant for the big guys. However, despite his shorter frame, Volkanovski was excellent in the role, helping his team to win the big events.

During his Rugby League stint, Volkanovski started training for MMA just for the sake of his physical fitness. However, soon he loved the sport of MMA. Chiefly, the one-on-one nature of the sport.

Hence, it motivated him to give more attention to MMA. And looking at his stats and records in the sport, it appears he made the right choice.