Alexander Volkanovski

Alexander Volkanovski (born 29 September 1988) is an Australian professional mixed martial artist. He currently competes in the Featherweight division of the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC), where he is the current and two-time UFC Featherweight Champion. Volkanovski is the first Australian-born fighter to win a UFC title. He is also a former Australian Fighting Championship (AFC) Featherweight champion. Prior to his UFC debut, Volkanovski competed as a professional boxer in 2015. As of 3 February 2026, he is #4 in the UFC men's pound-for-pound rankings. He is considered one of the greatest Featherweights of all time.

Volkanovski held the UFC's top pound-for-pound ranking during two separate reigns between 2022 and 2023 and was named Fighter of the Year at the World MMA Awards in 2022. He is tied with José Aldo for the most featherweight title victories in UFC history and is the oldest fighter to win the UFC Featherweight Championship at age 36, later becoming the oldest to successfully defend the title at 37. Fight Matrix currently ranks him as the second-greatest featherweight of all time and the sixth-greatest fighter pound-for-pound.

Background

Volkanovski was born on 29 September 1988, in Wollongong, New South Wales. His father was born in the village of Beranci in Yugoslavia, SR Macedonia (now North Macedonia) while his mother is from Greece. Alex began training in Greco-Roman wrestling at an early age and won a national title twice at the age of 12. He decided to give up wrestling at the age of 14 and instead focused on a career in rugby league as a front rower. Volkanovski attended Lake Illawarra High School throughout his teenage years and worked as a concreter after graduation.

He played semi-professional rugby league for the Warilla Gorillas in the Group 7 Rugby League where he was awarded the Mick Cronin Medal in 2010 as the league's best player. He also played a crucial role in Warilla's 2011 Premiership winning season and received the Man of the Match award for his performance in his team's Grand Final victory over Gerringong. Volkanovski then decided to quit rugby league at 23 years of age to pursue a professional career in Mixed Martial Arts in the latter half of 2011. He claims to have watched Ultimate Fighting Championship events since childhood and would often rent UFC VHS tapes from Blockbuster as well as purchase UFC pay per views from 14 years of age.

Coach Joe Lopez said Volkanovski started training in MMA at the age of 22 and Greco-Roman wrestling to keep fit during the rugby league off season, where he weighed 97 kg (214 lb). However, he soon realized he had a passion for the sport and wanted to go as far as he could. Volkanovski quickly became a good counter striker with a powerful overhand right as well as a fantastic offensive wrestler. He initially competed in multiple amateur fights in the middleweight division as he adjusted from his rugby weight before turning professional and moving down to welterweight, lightweight and ultimately the featherweight division.

"There are no excuses in fighting. You can be playing a team sport and have a good game, and you can lose. In fighting, it’s all on me. If I go out there and lose, then it’s my fault. I like that. So I know if I fight well, I’m going to win. I definitely love the fact that it’s all on you, and you do what you have to do to win. Each fight is like a grand final in the rugby league."

Volkanovski is based at Freestyle Fighting Gym in Wollongong but regularly completes training camps at Tiger Muay Thai and Bangtao Muay Thai & MMA in Phuket and City Kickboxing in Auckland with fellow UFC fighters, former UFC Middleweight Champion Israel Adesanya, Dan Hooker and Kai Kara-France. Members of Volkanovski's team have included Eugene Bareman and Craig Jones.

Mixed martial arts career

Early career

Starting as an amateur at middleweight and going 4–0 before turning professional, Volkanovski has fought in various MMA organizations in the Oceania region in Asia from 2012 to July 2016 before signing with the UFC. He won a Pacific Xtreme Combat (PXC) title and two Australian Fighting Championship (AFC) Featherweight titles. Volkanovski amassed a record of 13–1 with 10 straight wins prior to joining the UFC.

Ultimate Fighting Championship

Volkanovski made his promotional debut on 26 November 2016, and increased his win streak to 11 with a second-round TKO against Yusuke Kasuya at UFC Fight Night 101. He announced at the post-fight press conference that he would drop from lightweight to featherweight for his next fight.

Move down to Featherweight

Volkanovski was expected to face Michel Quiñones on 19 February 2017 at UFC Fight Night 105. However, the bout was scrapped after Quiñones suffered an injury and no replacement could be found.

Volkanovski returned to Featherweight and faced Mizuto Hirota on 11 June 2017 at UFC Fight Night 110. He won the fight via unanimous decision after almost finishing Hirota following a knockdown.

Volkanovski was expected to face Jeremy Kennedy at UFC Fight Night: Werdum vs. Tybura on 19 November 2017, in Sydney, Australia. However, Kennedy pulled out of the fight on 5 October, citing a back injury and was replaced by Humberto Bandenay. In November 2017, it was announced that Bandenay would delay his UFC debut at this event due to undisclosed reasons, and was replaced by Drex Zamboanga. In turn, Zamboanga pulled out of the fight due to visa issues and was replaced by promotional newcomer Shane Young. The bout proceeded at a catchweight of 150 pounds. Volkanovski won the fight via unanimous decision.

The bout with Kennedy was rescheduled and took place on 11 February 2018 at UFC 221. He won the fight via technical knockout.

Volkanovski faced Darren Elkins on 14 July 2018 at UFC Fight Night 133. He won the fight via unanimous decision.

Volkanovski faced Chad Mendes on 29 December 2018 at UFC 232. He won the fight via technical knockout in round two after surviving two knockdowns himself. This fight earned him the Fight of the Night award.

Volkanovski faced former featherweight champion José Aldo at UFC 237 on 11 May 2019. He won the fight via unanimous decision.

UFC Featherweight Champion

Volkanovski vs. Holloway

Volkanovski faced Max Holloway on 14 December 2019, for the UFC Featherweight Championship at UFC 245. Volkanovski won the fight via unanimous decision.

Volkanovski vs. Holloway 2

Volkanovski made his first title defense in a rematch against Max Holloway on 11 July 2020 at UFC 251. He won the fight via split decision. This outcome was controversial amongst media outlets, with 18 out of 27 media scores giving it to Holloway, including mixed martial arts personalities such as UFC president Dana White, former referee and creator of the rules system John McCarthy, and multiple mixed martial artists.

Volkanovski vs. Ortega

Volkanovski was scheduled to make his second title defense against Brian Ortega on 27 March 2021 at UFC 260. However, the fight was canceled due to COVID-19 protocols. Volkanovski later tweeted that he tested positive for COVID-19.

On 2 April 2021, it was announced that Brian Ortega and Volkanovski would be the coaches for The Ultimate Fighter 29 at ESPN+ and the show featured bantamweight and middleweight contestants.

Volkanovski faced Brian Ortega on 25 September 2021, at UFC 266 for the UFC Featherweight Championship. He won the fight via unanimous decision. Volkanovski received universal praise for escaping multiple submission attempts and persevering. This fight earned him the Fight of the Night award.

Volkanovski vs. The Korean Zombie

Volkanovski was scheduled to face Max Holloway for a third time on 5 March 2022, at UFC 272. However, a day after the announcement, Holloway was forced to pull from the event due to injury. Holloway was replaced by Chan Sung Jung and the title bout was moved to UFC 273 on 9 April 2022. After knocking Jung down multiple times, Volkanovski won the fight via TKO in the fourth round. The win earned him the Performance of the Night award. The fight also earned him second place in the Crypto.com "Fan Bonus of the Night" award.

Volkanovski vs. Holloway 3

The trilogy bout against Holloway was rescheduled at UFC 276 on 2 July 2022. Volkanovski won the bout via unanimous decision, with all three judges scoring the fight 50–45. This win earned him the Crypto.com Fan Bonus of the Night second-place award, which paid the bitcoin equivalent of US$20,000.

Volkanovski vs. Makhachev

Volkanovski moved up a weight class to challenge Islam Makhachev for the UFC Lightweight Championship on 12 February 2023 at UFC 284. He lost the fight via unanimous decision. This fight earned him the Fight of the Night award.