Rugby isn’t considered a functional base for fighting, but it helped develop the athleticism of “The Great” Alexander Volkanovski.
Two years before shifting his focus to Rugby at age 14, Volkanovski picked up Greco-Roman wrestling. Eventually, the Australian circled back to combat sports after a spell as a semi-pro for the Warilla Gorillas rugby team.
Volkanovski’s athletic drive helped him become one of MMA’s greatest featherweights.
Volkanovski’s ability to perform in any area of a fight brought multiple world title wins in the UFC. His high fight IQ allowed him to display some of the most masterful performances in MMA history while showing unreal adaptability in tricky situations. From a technical perspective, Volkanovski is a unicorn and does everything well.
Who Will Alexander Volkanovski Fight Next?
Volkanovski will defend his featherweight title on July 8 at UFC 290 against Yair Rodriguez. The bout is a five-round main event.
Volkanovski and UFC’s International Fight Week have become synonymous with each other. The featherweight champion will make his third appearance as part of the week-long promotional showcase, culminating at UFC 290.
Fresh off his first career champion vs. champion bout opposite lightweight title holder Islam Makhachev, Volkanovski returns to his 145-pound home, where he’ll defend against the interim champion, Rodriguez.
Volkanovski vs. Rodriguez Betting Odds
Proving to be arguably the best on the planet as a former No. 1 ranked pound-for-pound UFC fighter, Volkanovski opened a sizable favorite over Rodriguez with a -435 moneyline.
The odds gap is surprising for this matchup. However, it’s a testament to MMA math, as Rodriguez’s last defeat came against former champion Max Holloway.
Rodriguez’s interim title-winning effort over Josh Emmett his last time out showed critical growth from the dangerous striker. He submitted his foe with a second-round triangle choke. On the feet, “El Pantera” displayed outstanding sharpness, slicing up Emmett with elbows and precise punches.
Ultimately, Rodriguez will find his adaptability put to the test against the refined champion. Volkanovski has shown he can walk through fire; he’ll need to be extra focused and prepared for the unpredictable set of attacks Rodriguez presents.
Alexander Volkanovski MMA Record
One glance at Volkanovski’s resume is all it takes to see greatness.
With an MMA record of 25-2, Volkanovski has proved to be an elite tactician. However, he still has 12 knockouts and three submissions to his credit.
“The Great” is featherweight royalty in every sense, holding wins over all UFC champions the division has had except for Conor McGregor.
Most of Volkanovski’s 13-fight run inside the octagon has seen him as the betting odds favorite. But, it took oddsmakers a few standout performances to come around to his talents.
In Volkanovski’s biggest non-title victories, he cashed out big with +150 and +145 moneylines against featherweight legends Chad Mendes and Jose Aldo.
The Mendes war highlighted Volkanovski’s famous adjustment-making. As the division’s premier wrestler throughout his career, Mendes gave Volkanovski a grappling test while engaging in tight slugfests against the cage. Volkanovski’s chin was the one that held up, crumpling Mendes in round two with punches for the TKO.
Facing Aldo was essentially a title fight before a title fight for Volkanovski. The Aussie traveled into enemy territory, shutting down the legend everywhere the fight went on Brazilian soil.
En route to a unanimous decision, Volkanovski’s methodical striking—accompanied by his wrestling and clinch work—made it so Aldo couldn’t produce effective offense.
Despite proving oddsmakers wrong by that point, Volkanovski ballooned to an even bigger underdog in his first title fight against Max Holloway. “The Great” entered as a +175 underdog and left the champion by unanimous decision with a clinical performance where he chopped the Hawaiian down with his leg kicks.
The pair’s rematch was a championship turnaround of sorts for the new champion. Two great opening rounds for Holloway saw Volkanovski hurt and dropped twice. He recovered in the final three, outworking “Blessed” in a controversial decision.
Volkanovski put all the speculation to rest in the Holloway trilogy. Holloway found himself on the receiving end of a striking masterclass from his rival, getting boxed up for five rounds. He was unable to touch the defensively sound former Rugby player.
Between Volkanovski’s second and third Holloway bouts, he started to earn his respect as champion by dominating former title challengers Brian Ortega and Chan Sung Jung. The latter was an expected trouncing with Volkanovski as a -330 favorite.
Volkanovski pummeled Jung on the feet until a merciful fourth-round standing TKO. Against Ortega, it was primarily the same story outside of a near-disaster when Volkanovski was caught in a guillotine choke.
In another display of his championship-level heart and resolve, Volkanovski miraculously survived to escape the third-round submission and got back to battering “T-City” with tactical kickboxing.
Even in defeat against Makhachev for his lightweight title bid, Volkanovski showed up and showed out as a whopping +380 underdog. Featherweight’s finest managed to touch up the mostly unscathed Makhachev and stun him with strikes at points in the bout.
Volkanovski held his own and escaped dangerous positions in the grappling department, where Makhachev had the advantage. Volk put the Russian in trouble towards the fight’s end.
Alexander Volkanovski Championship Odds
Volkanovski’s 2023 run as the featherweight champion had its twists and turns.
Favored with -280 UFC futures odds to be champion at 2024’s start, Rodriguez is the biggest and possibly only concern, thanks to Volkanovski’s desire to rematch Makhachev.
It depends greatly on what happens with the lightweight title picture in the coming months and if Volkanovski will only fight once at featherweight in 2023. According to him, the UFC offered the Makhachev rematch, but Volkanovski opted to stay active rather than wait until October.
There aren’t any clear next 145-pound contenders following Rodriguez, however, which makes the situation favorable if you’re betting on Volk to remain champion at the end of 2023.
Rodriguez is Volkanovski’s biggest and likely only threat to the throne in 2023. Volkanovski’s future odds are better than for the specific matchup (-435). With the better value and position Volkanovski is in, he’s a comfortable bet to make if you can find a sportsbook taking futures bets. Online betting sites often suspended UFC futures betting.
