Alexander Volkanovski is an Australian MMA fighter who currently competes in the Featherweight class for the UFC. In his MMA career, he has fought in a number of weight divisions. From middleweight to featherweight, he has had a remarkable MMA career despite entering the sport late in his career. The renowned UFC gold is presently held by ‘The Great,’ the fourth UFC featherweight champion in history.
He is unbeaten in his UFC career with nine victories, including two over perhaps the greatest featherweight of all time, Max Holloway. Aside from that, he boasts victories over legends such as Jose Aldo and Chad Mendes, making him one of the best to ever do it.
Alexander Volkanovski Early Life
Alexander Volkanovski was born on September 29, 1988 and raised in Shellharbour, New South Wales, Australia. Tony Volkanovski is his father’s name, and Mary Volkanovski is his mother’s name. Volkanovski has dual citizenship because his father is from SR Macedonia and his mother is from Greece. Volkanovski attended Lake Illawarra High School and worked as a concreter during his adolescence.
The Australian athlete comes from a middle-class family. His father worked as a concrete worker. He prepares, mixes, compacts, and polishes concrete for construction projects. Meanwhile, his mother looked after the house. So they only had enough to live on.
Volkanovski spent his adolescence at Lake Illawarra High School. The School is a co-educational comprehensive secondary day school that is supported by the government. It happened on Reddall Parade in New South Wales’ Illawarra area.
Alexander Volkanovski has been a sports fan since he was a child. He started practicing in Greco-Roman wrestling at a young age. The match was unlike any other type of wrestling. It prohibits holding below the waist.
He was an accomplished Greco-Roman wrestler who won a national title at the age of 12. Alexander also watched Ultimate Fighting Championship events as a youth. He frequently rented UFC VHS movies from Blockbuster. He then purchased UFC pay-per-views.
Alexander quit wrestling at the age of 14. Instead, he concentrated on rugby league football. On a rectangular field, two teams of thirteen players compete. Alexander Volkanovski was a front-rower in the game.
Alexander Volkanovski Net Worth
His net worth is estimated to be greater than $1.5 million. The UFC fighter attributes the majority of his net fortune to his successful fighting career. A fighter earns money from a variety of sources, including sponsorship and advertising arrangements. Alexander keeps his economic career and statistics to himself.
In November 2016, Alexander earned $22,500 from a single match against Kasuya. The next year, he competed in two UFC fights and earned $57,000. Valkanovski competed in three games in 2018 and earned $330,000. His most lucrative match came against Mandes, in which he got $65,000 to show, a $60,000 victory bonus, a $50,000 Fight of the Night prize, and a $5,000 fight week incentive pay.
Alexander made nearly $400,000 in 2019 from just two matches. He made $280,000 from a single game against Holloway, which comprised his guaranteed amount of $250,000 plus a $30,000 fight week bonus pay. In 2020, the fighter faced Holloway once and earned $390,000 ($350,000 to show, $40,000 fight week incentive money).
The fighter received $492,000 against Ortega in the UFC 266, including $400,000 to show, a $50,000 Fight of the Night bonus, and a $42,000 fight week incentive money. His earnings from the UFC up to early 2022 are $1,716,500.
Alexander Volkanovski Wife
Emma Volkanovski is the UFC featherweight champion’s wife. Airlie and Ariana Volkanovski are the couple’s two daughters. Volkanovski and Emma tied the knot in 2015.
Emma Volkanovski is a fitness enthusiast with a bachelor’s degree in psychology from the University of Sydney. Emma comes from a modest family with three sisters.
Biography in Brief
| Name: | Alexander Volkanovski |
| Nick Name: | The Great |
| Age: | 33 |
| Born: | 29 September 1988 |
| Gender: | Male |
| Height: | 1.68 m (5 ft 6 in) |
| Weight: | 145 lbs / 66 kg |
| Country of Origin: | Australia |
| Net Worth: | $1.5 Million |
| Wife/Girlfriend | Emma Volkanovski |
| Relationship Status | Married |
| Kids – 2 Daughter | Airlie and Ariana |
| Father | Tony Volkanovski |
| Mother | Mary Volkanovski |
| Siblings | 0 |
| Social Media | Twiiter – Instagram – Facebook |
Alexander Volkanovski Career
Road to Fame
The Australian sports competitor began as a middleweight amateur. Alexander Volkanovski competed in numerous MMA organisations around Oceania. Before to the UFC, he fought from 2012 until 2016.
He won the Pacific Xtreme Combat (PXC) championship. Two Australian Fighting Championship Featherweight titles followed. Volkanovski has a 13-1 record. Before entering the UFC, he had ten straight victories.
Volkanovski made his promotional debut on November 26th, 2016. With a second-round TKO, he extended his winning streak to 11. At UFC Fight 101, he squared off against Yusuke Kasuya.
At the post-fight press conference for his next fight, he announced that he will move from lightweight to featherweight.
So, upon his return to featherweight, he defeated Mizuto Hirota, Shane Young, and Kennedy.
In 2019, Alexander also defeated Darren Elkins, Chad Mendes, and José Aldo. He won the majority of his fight by unanimous decision.
Fame to Heights
On July 11, 2020, at UFC 251, the MMA athlete made his first championship defense against Max Holloway in a rematch. He won the fight by a split decision. He became the first Australian-born and second Australian to earn UFC medals.
Nonetheless, the outcome sparked debate among media sources. MMA personalities, such as UFC president Dana White, are also former referees.
Also present were John McCarthy, the architect of the rules system, and several MMA fighters. Alexander Volkanovski’s contentious victories over Max Holloway remained in doubt.
Following that, it was announced in April 2021 that Volkanovski, along with Brian Ortega, would serve as coaches on The Ultimate Fighter 29 on ESPN+. The show will include bantamweight and middleweight contestants.
Volkanovski will face Brian Ortega in September 2021. The fight for the UFC Featherweight Championship took place at UFC 266. He won the fight by unanimous decision.
Alex joins the likes of Khabib Nurmagomedov and Anderson Silva on the select list of athletes who began their UFC careers with an unbeaten 10-0 record.
Kamaru Usman, the current welterweight champion, is also on the list. The fight earned him the title of Fight of the Night. So far, he has fought 24 battles, winning 23 of them and losing only one via knockout against Corey Nelson. Highlights can be seen in the video below.
Alexander Volkanovski Stats
Alexander Volkanovski Interesting Facts
His athletic abilities transcend beyond the ring
Volkanovski previously played semi-professional rugby for the Warilla Gorillas of the South Coast Rugby League in New South Wales, Australia. In 2010, he became the fifth player in franchise history to get the Michael Cronin Medal, which is given to the league’s finest player each year. Volkanovski led the Gorillas to their ninth championship a year later, in his final season.
Adversity has just once visited him
Volkanovski made his professional MMA debut on May 19, 2012, at a Revolution Promotions event, and won his first three fights before being stopped by Corey Nelson under the Australian Fighting Championship banner with a third-round head kick and follow-up punches. He has not lost in his last 18 appearances.
He is a member of an exclusive club
When Volkanvoski defeated Holloway to win the UFC featherweight belt, he joined an exclusive group. Only Volkanovski, Holloway, Conor McGregor, and Jose Aldo have held the undisputed 145-pound belt (twice).
He enjoys the championship lifestyle
Volkanovski won titles in five previous organisations before joining the UFC: Southern Fight Promotions, Roshambo MMA, Australian Fighting Championship, Pacific Xtreme Combat, and Wollongong Wars.
Opponents frequently meet violent ends.
Volkanovski has won more than half of his 21 career victories by knockout or technical knockout, with seven of them coming in the first round. On June 14, 2015, he recorded his fastest finish at Australia Fighting Championship 13, when he punched James Bishop out in 99 seconds.
