What was Alexander Volkanovski's weight during his rugby career?
Alexander Volkanovski is slowly climbing up to the position of greatest featherweight in UFC history. The 145-pound champion appears to be relatively smaller compared to some of the modern featherweights like Giga Chikadze and Yair Rodriguez, to name a few.
However, he has a tremendous potential to pack serious muscle mass. It wasn't long ago that the Aussie was a rugby player and weighed around 214 pounds.
In fact, Volkanovski started fighting to keep himself fit and take the extra weight off his body. He is now the No.3-ranked fighter on the men's P4P list and is considered one of the greatest featherweights of all time.
Volkanovski has previously said that during the pre-season of rugby league, he wanted to stay fit and, to do so, started training in MMA. 'The Great' also corrected Joe Rogan for the UFC color commentator, who often referred to Volkanovski's rugby form as 240 pounds.
Here's what the 35-year-old said on the Joe Rogan Experience podcast:
"I actually started MMA as a kid to keep fit while I was playing rugby league. That was when I was 214 pounds. So, that's something that obviously, when I am fighting and you say 240."
Watch Alexander Volkanovski talk to Joe Rogan in the video below (0:12):
Alexander Volkanovski has experimented with weight in MMA as well
Alexander Volkanovski has previously stated that playing rugby with heavier and much stronger athletes helped him in MMA by making him stronger and more confident in his abilities. The 35-year-old has been most successful in the featherweight division and became the UFC champion.
But before figuring out a suitable weight class, the Australian fighter competed in welterweight and lightweight division as well. He started his career in the welterweight division and won the divisional titles in the Australian regional scene.
Following a knockout loss in his fourth professional fight, Volkanovski moved down to the lightweight division. He competed in both featherweight and lightweight divisions till his arrival in the UFC.
But after a successful UFC debut in the lightweight division against Yusuke Kasuya in November 2016, 'The Great' made the featherweight division his home and ascended to the status of one of the most accomplished champions in the division's history.
Volkanovski moved up in weight to challenge lightweight champion Islam Makhachev twice in 2023. Their first meeting was a closely contested fight that Volkanovski lost on the judges' scorecards. Makhachev won the second fight via first-round knockout.
That being said, 'The Great' is still the 145-pound champion and will attempt the sixth defense of his title against Ilia Topuria at UFC 298.