Have you ever thought of giving up on your dreams and still chasing them because you are too passionate about them? Well, the UFC featherweight champion Alexander Volkanovski had the same feelings during his initial years in MMA.

‘The Great’ is currently number three on the UFC pound-for-pound rankings and also has three title defenses under his name. Moreover, many consider him one of the greatest featherweights in the promotion, given his undefeated run in the UFC. However, none of this would have happened today if ‘The Great’ had chosen to leave MMA amidst his financial problems and family pressure before the UFC.

In a recent episode of The MMA Hour with Ariel Helwani, Volkanovski recalled a time when he almost gave up MMA, despite being one of the best fighters in Australia.

Volkanovski said, “So I was chasing the UFC contract for a while. I was pound-for-pound number one in Australia at that time. Obviously outside UFC. I had a sh*tload of Aussie titles, world titles, fought different divisions.”

“Sh*tloads of knockouts. I was doing everything and, you know, just chasing this UFC dream. There were even chances that sort of come and they got taken away from me… we are struggling and struggling and it wasn’t happening.” – The UFC featherweight champion continued. 

“This one time I went to the gym was at the front and I was just that’s about like I sort of had enough… It was just a moment and literally that weekend I end up getting a major sponsor. So obviously you know I could have just gave up, and that’s it. I am done.” – ‘The Great’ concluded. 

WATCH THIS STORY: Five Potential Opponents For Alexander Volkanovski After His Spectacular Performance At UFC 273

What is next for Alexander Volkanovski after his victory at UFC 273?

‘The Great’ recently defended his UFC gold against Chan Sung Jung aka ‘The Korean Zombie’ in the main event of UFC 273. After the first few exchanges, it was clear that Volkanovski was giving the South Korean fighter a hard time inside the cage.

In the fourth, round ‘The Great’ unleashed a vicious combination that forced referee Herb Dean to jump in and stop the fight. This victory marked Volkanovski’s third successful title defense in the UFC.

However, before this fight, the Aussie fighter was set to take on the former champion Max Holloway in a blockbuster trilogy fight. However, the latter pulled out of the fight because of an injury.

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Notably, Volkanovski has fought and defeated almost every fighter from the top-5, except 3 and 5. But ‘Blessed’ still remains the number one contender. Hence, this fight makes more sense after Holloway recovers from his injury.

Who do you guys think Volkanovski should fight next? What are your thoughts on Volkanovski’s words? Let us know in the comments.