Alexander Volkanovski is the perfect fighter
Who can stop Alexander Volkanovski? It's a genuine question in the wake of the Australian's recent triumph at UFC 290.
This past Saturday, he faced off against one of his most dangerous-ever opponents in Yair Rodriguez. It was a bout many were intrigued by, for countless reasons.
First, 'El Pantera' was the interim featherweight champion, crowned in Volkanovski's absence during his brief and ultimately failed pursuit of lightweight glory. Second, Rodriguez is a striking buzzsaw with the right blend of speed, power and dynamism that made him a threat to 'The Great' on the feet.
And given the Australian's gradual move away from his Greco-Roman wrestling roots, few expected a grappling affair. To everyone's surprise, Volkanovski used every skill in his toolbox and reminded the world why he is the UFC's only perfect fighter, or at least, the closest one to such distinction.
Alexander Volkanovski, the athlete
MMA is, at its core, a physical sport. While skills are fundamental to a fighter's success, so too is their physicality. A mixed martial artist can only be so effective without the athletic attributes for them to express the full breadth of their skills.
This was one of the great drawbacks of the highly creative Zabit Magomedsharipov.
The now retired Dagestani featherweight was an exceptionally skilled fighter, with no weak areas. As an athlete, however, he was sorely lacking. Despite being the largest 145-pounder on the roster, he lacked knockout power and was known for his shockingly shallow gas tank.
This could not be further from the truth with Alexander Volkanovski. The Australian phenom possesses every conceivable athletic attribute an MMA fighter could covet, having most of them in spades.
First, Volkanovski is freakishly strong for a man of his small stature.
"He's not strong"
Alexander Volkanovski on Islam Makhachev https://t.co/wiStYXau8S
His physical strength is such that he managed to contend with reigning UFC lightweight champion Islam Makhachev. Makhachev is a fighter so strong that former foe Bobby Green accused him of PED usage since his childhood days simply to make sense of the inhuman strength he felt.
Several years prior, Chad Mendes, a tank of a man, was outmuscled by Alexander Volkanovski in the clinch.
However, it is not only strength that 'The Great' has.
He is also blindingly fast, able to keep pace with the lightning-quick Yair Rodriguez, and make every other featherweight look as if they're fighting under water.
Against Max Holloway, his greatest divisional rival, the featherweight kingpin exclaimed that he was too fast for the Hawaiian in their last encounter. Apart from the strength and speed he has in abundance, Alexander Volkanovski is also tireless. Even Holloway, with his legendary gas tank, couldn't exhaust him.
Islam Makhachev, who is known for his excellent cardio, was more tired by the end of his encounter with Alexander Volkanovski, even though the Australian was carrying the extra weight. Moving up a division often leads to cardio issues, which even the famously fit Georges St-Pierre struggled with against Michael Bisping.
Often-times, fighters with great cardio pay a physiological toll. A great gas tank requires more slow-twitch muscle fibers designed for steady-state work. In short, fighters with great cardio don't usually have much punching power due to their low fast-twitch muscle fibers needed to generate maximum force under minimum time.
Je vois un lutteur qui était en train de shooter un takedown...
Volkanovski a correctement timé et a perturbé le plan d'Islam.
Mais vraiment je ne vois de knock down. https://t.co/lXZFRmKqSb
Yet, Alexander Volkanovski is powerful. He isn't a pure knockout artist, but he does hit hard and his power seems to be improving. Yair Rodriguez is notoriously tough. Even the heavy-handed Josh Emmett couldn't drop him, much less finish him, despite landing his patented overhand-right more than once.
Similarly, Chan Sung Jung is another man of legendary durability. 'The Great' finished them both, cracking them. Even Makhachev, a man fighting a weight class above Volkanovski, was dropped by his smaller foe in their encounter. Whether his opponents are larger or freakishly tough, his hands have proved heavy enough.
Speaking of iron chins, Alex Volkanovski has one himself. He is rarely hurt in his fights, and when he is, he's almost never rocked to a significant degree. In those rare instances, however, he recovers extremely well and maintains his composure.
'The Great' is more than just an athlete, though. He is also as skilled as fighters come.
Alexander Volkanovski, the mixed martial artist
Well-rounded fighters are rarer than most people think. Being able to strike while having the odd takedown in one's arsenal is enough for most to declare a fighter well-rounded. Conversely, being able to wrestle, while having striking fundamentals can lead to the same praise.
How many fighters are truly elite in every facet of MMA? Very few come to mind. Some might say current heavyweight champion Jon Jones, but the latter has identifiable holes in his game. He has also become a much less impressive fighter whenever he faces anyone who matches his size, besides Ciryl Gane.
Those flaws are deserving of their own study, but Alexander Volkanovski has no such drawbacks. As a striker, he has mastered pocket-boxing, mid-range exchanges and out-fighting.
🧟 while favored @ -660#UFC276 Odds History: Alex Volkanovski & Max Holloway
Volk
— UFC Rec. vs. Underdogs: 8-0
— Decisions in 7 of last 10 UFC events
— Last fight, TKO'd 🇰🇷🧟 while favored @ -660
Blessed
— UFC Rec. vs. Favorites: 3-4
— Decisions on 6 straight UFC cards, all 5 rounds
#GamblingTwitter https://t.co/HooIv0oPPQ
As the shorter man, he's always at risk of being jabbed by taller foes who want to keep him on the end of their reach. To neutralize this, Alexander Volkanovski has several weapons.
First, is his inside low kick. He uses his longest weapon, which is his leg, to attack his opponent's nearest target, which is their lead leg. Any time his foe tries to step in with their jab, he counters them by kicking their exposed lead leg as they step forward.
The interruption his low kick causes, destabilizes his opponent's stance, forcing them to reset. If they do so, 'The Great' pounces with combinations over the top when his foe's footing is weakest. He also jabs with his opponent, interrupting their flow so they can't build any combinations off their jab.
Additionally, he uses shifting combinations to easily glide past mid-range. He steps in with a punch, shifting stances mid-combination, and mixing in a level change to evade a counterpunch. Though this could expose him to knees and kicks up the middle, 'The Great' accounts for even that.
He pulls back at the waist at the final instance, but Yair Rodriguez switched to round kicks to the head, landing, albeit partially. However, Alexander Volkanovski's defensive skills are excellent, as is his fight IQ. A key example is his response to Rodriguez trying to catch him leaning back with those round kicks to the head.
This was not something he prepared for by watching footage of 'El Pantera,' as he didn't counter him this way earlier in the bout. Instead, Alexander Volkanovski, by himself, noticed that Yair Rodriguez always ended his combinations with a head kick to try and intercept him as he leaned away.
So in the third round of their bout, Alexander Volkanovski baited his foe. He didn't lean back and countered the former interim champion with a right hook as Rodriguez was mid-kick, with his chin exposed. This led to the finishing sequence as it hurt the Mexican badly.
There's little else that needs to be said about his striking. Whether it's Max Holloway or Yair Rodriguez, no one has been able to contend with him. With respect to his wrestling, he scored countless takedowns against 'El Pantera', showcasing excellent timing by ducking under punches when Rodriguez squared his hips.
Alexander Volkanovski Impressive TKO victory over Yair Rodriguez! What a performance by Volk! WOW!
@alexvolkanovski wins in round 3! #AndStill #ufc290 #ufc https://t.co/zOpKTMMWOi
Against Islam Makhachev, he scored a sneaky outside-trip with a shoulder bump to off-balance his opponent. Hr also constantly dug for underhooks in the clinch to stop his foe from pinning him to the fence. If even the seemingly unstoppable Dagestani wrestling couldn't smother him, what more does he have to prove?
On the mat, his grappling defense has become the stuff of MMA legend. Brian Ortega, one of the deadliest submission specialists in the sport, trapped him in a guillotine-choke during their bout. Instead of tapping out in surrender, Alexander Volkanovski listened to his corner in one of MMA's most coachabe moments.
He used one hand to push against Ortega's hips to stop him from controlling his posture, and used his other hand to push against the forearm of one of his foe's choking arms. He fought the choke until 'T-City' blew his own arms out.
A lesser man would have been submitted, but not the UFC's only perfect fighter.