Alexander Volkanovski’s rugby career is a fascinating journey filled with triumphs, challenges, and exceptional talent. The reigning featherweight champion of the UFC was once a semi-professional Rugby player in his home country of Australia. Sounds unbelievable right? Clearly, ‘The Great’ is a man of many sports and talents.

From his early days on the field to his groundbreaking achievements, ‘Volk’ left an interesting mark in his personal history as he played in New South Wales, his hometown. And it wasn’t just some insignificant pursuit of the sport as he collected multiple accolades for himself and his team even helping it greatly to victory. For now, he prepares to fight Ilia Topuria at UFC 298 but here’s a look back at his interesting past.

Rugby Career of Alexander Volkanovski

The current UFC featherweight champion has now reigned for over 1500 days and is already in the GOAT conversation. However, he had a background in rugby league before transitioning to MMA. Despite being only about 5 feet 6 inches in height, making him smaller than most players in his position, Volkanovski excelled as a front-rower, known for his toughness, strength, and exceptional defensive skills.

He was known to take on much larger opponents and was involved in scuffles with them, displaying fearlessness and an unyielding fighting spirit, just like he does in the cage. A team favorite, he competed in the South Coast Rugby League with his team.

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He played a crucial role in helping his team reach multiple grand finals and win the championship in 2011. Volkanovski’s exceptional performances included making key plays, scoring tries, and setting up winning field goals. Despite his success in rugby league, Volkanovski decided to pursue a career in MMA, but it wasn’t new to him. MMA was always on his mind.

“I actually started MMA as a kid to keep fit while I was playing rugby league. That was when I was 214 pounds. So, that’s something that obviously, when I am fighting and you say 240.” He told Joe Rogan when he sat down with the MMA pundit for The Joe Rogan Podcast’s MMA Show #93 edition. Clearly, Rugby had an influence, and so did the team he played for.

All about the UFC champ’s Rugby career

Alex Volkanovski played rugby league for the Warilla Gorillas and helped the team to victory too! He played a crucial role in helping the Warilla Gorillas win the 2011 Premiership, and he was named Man of the Match in the grand final victory over Gerringong.

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Before the amazing win, in 2010, he was also awarded the Mick Cronin Medal as the league’s best player. But at some point, ‘The Great’ decided to let go of his Rugby career and at the age of 23, Volkanovski made the decision to leave rugby league and pursue a career in mixed martial arts.

He fought for several promotions around the time of his rise to the sport until he joined the UFC debuting against Yusuke Kasuya at a UFC: Fight Night event on the 27th of November 2016. Since then, ‘Volk’ has stuck with the promotion eventually rising to becoming the champion.

How Rugby Helped Alexander Volkanovski in MMA?

Alexander Volkanovski’s rugby background played a crucial role in shaping his abilities and mindset, enabling him to excel in mixed martial arts. So much so that he defeated Max Holloway in 2019 to become the featherweight champion and is yet to be defeated in the division since. His current reign has laster over 1500 days and his next opponent, Ilia Topuria at UFC 298, might just be his most challenging yet in recent memory.

Rugby also instilled in him mental toughness and discipline, which proved valuable in MMA’s high-pressure environment. His grappling expertise from rugby contributed to his wrestling and takedown abilities. Since transitioning to MMA, Volkanovski has achieved success in the featherweight division and faced his one of his biggest challenge against Jose Aldo.

Motivated by his family, he trained diligently and aimed to break Aldo inside the octagon. Volkanovski’s rugby foundation, coupled with his natural talent, has propelled him to become a top contender and the long reigning champion.

However, his next opponent, ‘El Matador’ is fairly confident that he will break Volkanovski’s undefeated featherweight reign in the UFC. The German born Georgian also happens to have an undefeated professional record of 14-0. Interestingly though, Topuria joined the UFC in 2020 debuting in a stunning manner and with a 100% finish rate.

However, by then, Volkanovski was already champion meaning that he’s held the title for longer than Topuria has even been in the promotion. That does nothing against Topuria’s confidence who looks forward to taking down his biggest opponent yet. Will he succeed?

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