Alexander Volkanovski Australian Kickboxer From Wollongong

Early life

Alexander Volkanovski was born on 29 September 1988 in Wollongong, New South Wales, Australia. His father, Anthony, is of Macedonian background, and his mother, Mary, comes from Greek Macedonia. He began Greco-Roman wrestling at an early age and won a national title twice at twelve. At fourteen he gave up wrestling to concentrate on rugby league, playing as a front-row forward. He attended Lake Illawarra High School and worked as a concreter after leaving school.

In semi-professional rugby league he played for the Warilla Gorillas in the Group 7 competition. He received the Mick Cronin Medal in 2010 as the league's best player and helped the club win its 2011 premiership, taking Man of the Match in the grand final against Gerringong. In the second half of 2011, at 23, he left rugby league to pursue mixed martial arts.

Career

Volkanovski started as an amateur at middleweight, won four fights, and turned professional, moving down through welterweight and lightweight before settling at featherweight. Between 2012 and mid-2016 he fought for regional promotions in Oceania and Asia and won titles with Pacific Xtreme Combat and Australian Fighting Championship. He entered the UFC with a 13-1 record, including ten wins in a row. His promotional debut came on 26 November 2016 with a second-round technical knockout of Yusuke Kasuya. He also had a single professional boxing bout, a four-round unanimous decision.

At featherweight in the UFC he beat Mizuto Hirota, Shane Young, Jeremy Kennedy, Darren Elkins and Chad Mendes, then José Aldo at UFC 237 in May 2019. The Mendes fight earned him a Fight of the Night bonus. On 14 December 2019 at UFC 245 he beat Max Holloway by unanimous decision to win the featherweight championship. He defended the belt against Holloway at UFC 251 by split decision, against Brian Ortega at UFC 266, against Chan Sung Jung at UFC 273, and against Holloway a third time at UFC 276 in July 2022.

In February 2023 he moved up to challenge Islam Makhachev for the lightweight title at UFC 284 and lost a close unanimous decision. He returned to featherweight to defeat Yair Rodríguez at UFC 290 in July 2023, and in October 2023 he faced Makhachev again on 11 days' notice, losing by first-round knockout. He lost the featherweight belt to Ilia Topuria at UFC 298 in February 2024. On 12 April 2025 at UFC 314 he won the vacant featherweight title against Diego Lopes by unanimous decision, and he defended it against Lopes by unanimous decision at UFC 325 on 1 February 2026. He was the first Australian-born fighter to win a UFC title.

Recognition

Volkanovski was named Fighter of the Year at the World MMA Awards in 2022, and he held the top pound-for-pound ranking in the UFC in 2022 and 2023. He has received the UFC's Fight of the Night bonus five times and a Performance of the Night bonus for the Jung fight. He received the Key to the City of Wollongong on 22 May 2025. As a schoolboy wrestler he won a gold medal at the Australian National Schools Wrestling Competition in 2001.

Personal life

Volkanovski married Emma on 12 October 2012, and they have four daughters. He uses the nickname "The Great", a reference to Alexander the Great, linked to his Macedonian father and Greek mother. He is based at the Freestyle Fighting Gym in Wollongong, and he runs a YouTube channel, where he launched a cooking show in 2021.