“I got a CTE just watching that” - Fans amazed by old footage of UFC champion Alexander Volkanovski running through opponents during Rugby game

MMA fans have reacted to a video of UFC featherweight champion Alexander Volkanovski back when he was a semi-professional rugby league player.

Prior to making his switch to MMA, Volkanovski was a seriously competitive player in rugby league. Despite his small stature of being 5'6" in height, 'The Great' weighed over 200 lbs during the peak of his rugby career.

In the viral video, Volkanovski is seen running with the ball at a blistering pace and out-muscling men much larger than him. The Australian can also be seen breaking through challenges and tackling bigger men to the ground.

MMA fans have reacted to the video, with one fan suggesting that just watching the clip of Alexander Volkanovski gave him a CTE (Chronic traumatic encephalopathy).

"I got a CTE just watching that"

Another fan joked that it's almost impossible to imagine Volkanovski weighing as much as a car.

"Hard to believe he used to weigh as much as a Ford Escort."

Reddit user @sir-exotic hilariously suggested that the players didn't even want to tackle the featherweight champion, but were instead sucked into his gravitational pull due to his size.

"I think his opponents didn't even want to get close to that, but they got caught in his f***ing orbit."

A fan joking that the players didn't want to tackle him

Check out more fan reactions below:

Alexander Volkanovski explains why he'd rather face Charles Oliveira than Islam Makhachev

Earlier this week, Alexander Volkanovski confirmed that he's set to be in Abu Dhabi as the stand-in for UFC 280's main event between Charles Oliveira and Islam Makhachev. The two lightweight stars will be facing off for the vacant 155-pound strap with 'The Great' waiting in the wings should disaster strike.

It’s Official, I’m the back up fighter for the Light Weight title!
See you all in Abu Dhabi 👊 #UFC280

youtu.be/Sq8p0Qg2vbs

During a recent appearance on The MMA Hour with Ariel Helwani, Volkanovski was asked if he had a preference of who he would want to face. The Australian stated that both men are great competitors but he would choose Oliveira because fans consider him the champion despite him being stripped of the title prior to UFC 274:

"I'd say Charles would be the better opponent. People say stylistically, but obviously, there's a lot of hype around Charles. Everyone considers him the champ so if I beat him then everyone's going to consider me the champion."

'Volk' added:

"However, if I was to face Islam, I'm sure people would still say I'm champ, but I'm still going to have to beat Charles. You face Charles it's a bigger fight because he's got a lot of hype on him."

The 34-year-old later added that if he could choose a winner, it would be Oliveira because he's the more active fighter. Volkanovski is looking to become a double champ and will seize any opportunity he gets.

Catch Alexander Volkanovski on The MMA Hour here: