42 Facts About Alexander Volkanovski

Alexander Volkanovski was born on 29 September 1988 and is an Australian professional mixed martial artist.

Alexander Volkanovski currently competes in the Featherweight division of the Ultimate Fighting Championship, where he is the former UFC Featherweight Champion.

Alexander Volkanovski is a former Australian Fighting Championship Featherweight champion.

Alexander Volkanovski is considered one of the greatest Featherweights of all time.

Alexander Volkanovski was born on 29 September 1988, in Wollongong, New South Wales.

Alexander Volkanovski's father was born in the village of Beranci in Yugoslavia, SR Macedonia while his mother is from Greece.

Alexander Volkanovski decided to give up wrestling at the age of 14 and instead focused on a career in rugby league as a front rower.

Alexander Volkanovski attended Lake Illawarra High School throughout his teenage years and worked as a concreter after graduation.

Alexander Volkanovski 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.

Alexander Volkanovski 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.

Alexander 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.

Alexander Volkanovski quickly became a good counter striker with a powerful overhand right as well as a fantastic offensive wrestler.

Alexander Volkanovski 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.

Alexander Volkanovski won a Pacific Xtreme Combat title and two Australian Fighting Championship Featherweight titles.

Alexander 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.

Alexander Volkanovski announced at the post-fight press conference that he would drop from lightweight to featherweight for his next fight.

Alexander Volkanovski was expected to face Michel Quinones on 19 February 2017 at UFC Fight Night 105.

Alexander Volkanovski returned to Featherweight and faced Mizuto Hirota on 11 June 2017 at UFC Fight Night 110.

Alexander Volkanovski won the fight via unanimous decision after almost finishing Hirota following a knockdown.

Alexander Volkanovski was expected to face Jeremy Kennedy at UFC Fight Night: Werdum vs Tybura on 19 November 2017, in Sydney, Australia.

Alexander Volkanovski faced Darren Elkins on 14 July 2018 at UFC Fight Night 133.

Alexander Volkanovski faced Chad Mendes on 29 December 2018 at UFC 232.

Alexander Volkanovski won the fight via technical knockout in round two after surviving two knockdowns himself.

Alexander Volkanovski faced former featherweight champion Jose Aldo at UFC 237 on 11 May 2019.

Alexander Volkanovski faced Max Holloway on 14 December 2019, for the UFC Featherweight Championship at UFC 245.

Alexander Volkanovski made his first title defense in a rematch against Max Holloway on 11 July 2020 at UFC 251.

Alexander Volkanovski was scheduled to make his second title defense against Brian Ortega on 27 March 2021 at UFC 260.

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

Alexander Volkanovski faced Brian Ortega on 25 September 2021, at UFC 266 for the UFC Featherweight Championship.

Alexander Volkanovski received universal praise for escaping multiple submission attempts and persevering.

Alexander Volkanovski was scheduled to face Max Holloway for a third time on 5 March 2022, at UFC 272.

Alexander Volkanovski moved up a weight class to challenge Islam Makhachev for the UFC Lightweight Championship on 12 February 2023 at UFC 284.

Alexander Volkanovski returned to featherweight and faced interim featherweight champion Yair Rodriguez in a title unification bout for the UFC Featherweight Championship on 8 July 2023 at UFC 290.

Alexander Volkanovski won the fight via TKO in round three.

Alexander Volkanovski was next scheduled to face Ilia Topuria on 20 January 2024 to defend his UFC Featherweight Championship at UFC 297.

However, before that bout took place, Alexander Volkanovski was tapped to step in on 10 days notice to face UFC Lightweight Champion Islam Makhachev in a rematch, on 21 October 2023, at UFC 294, as a replacement for an injured Charles Oliveira.

Alexander Volkanovski lost the fight via head kick knockout in round one.

Alexander Volkanovski lost the championship by knockout in the second round.

Alexander Volkanovski has a single boxing bout, which was a Super welterweight bout he won by unanimous decision in four rounds against Dillon Bargero.

Alexander Volkanovski married his wife Emma on 12 October 2012; they have three daughters and as of March 2025, they are expecting a fourth daughter.

Alexander Volkanovski's eldest daughter Ariana was born in 2015; his second daughter Arlie was born in 2017, and his third daughter Reign was born in 2023.

Alexander Volkanovski appeared as a coach in Malaysia Invasion, an amateur MMA reality show.