An upcoming fight between Ilia Topuria and Alexander Volkanovski, who holds the featherweight belt, is scheduled to take place as the main event of UFC 298. In Anaheim, California, the Honda Center will play host to the second pay-per-view event, which is slated to take place on February 17th.
Even though Volkanovski was born in Wollongong, which is located in New South Wales, Australia, his family tree is quite varied. In addition to having Macedonian roots, his father, Tony Volkanovski, hails from the village of Beranci in Yugoslavia, SR Macedonia. On the other hand, his mother, Mary Volkanovski, is of Greek lineage.
The UFC 145-pound kingpin has chosen to embrace his mixed background by adopting the title “The Great.” He does this by drawing comparisons to Alexander the Great, who, like him, had a Macedonian father and a Greek mother.
Greco-Roman wrestling was Volkanovski’s first sport, and he began competing at a young age. He impressed everyone with his extraordinary skill and won two national titles before he turned 12 years old. At the age of 14, he made the transition to rugby, where he flourished as a semi-professional player, particularly as a front rower with the Warilla Gorillas. His final season, which took place in 2011, culminated in a joyful grand final victory.
While ‘The Great’ was in the off-season of his rugby career, he discovered mixed martial arts (MMA) as a way to keep himself in shape. Almost immediately, his excitement for the sport increased, which prompted him to make a commitment to training full-time and to push the limits of his potential more than ever before.
Volkanovksi began his career as a fighter in the middleweight division; however, he underwent a dramatic physical metamorphosis and eventually dropped weight to compete in the 145-pound bracket, where he accomplished great success.
Alexander Volkanovski aims to make UFC history with double title defenses post-defeat
During the media day that took place at UFC 298 not too long ago, a journalist made the observation that Alexander Volkanovski was one of just four martial artists who had been able to successfully defend his title after suffering a loss.
The individual went on to emphasize that if the Australian fighter, who is 35 years old, emerged victorious on Saturday night, he would be the only fighter in the history of the Ultimate Fighting Championship to successfully defend his title twice after suffering a defeat. The following are some of the views that ‘The Great’ expressed in response to the possibility of setting this record:
Do you understand what I mean when I say that there is a need for challenges, because that is always a fantastic story? As a result of what took place, this fight is the ideal conclusion to the situation. At my lowest point, everyone has witnessed me. The time has come for me to get back on my feet and take on this unbeaten opponent… It’s simply stunning. It is flawless.”
Please take a look at the comments made by Alexander Volkanovski below (1:08):
Volkanovski has suffered defeats in two of his most recent three fights, two of which were against Islam Makhachev and took place in a weight class that was higher than his usual one. This featured a knockout loss in the first round to the lightweight champion at UFC 294, which took place in October of last year.
In spite of this, “The Great” has not yet suffered a defeat in the featherweight division. He has a perfect promotional record of 13-0 in the weight class where he has demonstrated his superiority.
