“I wrestled before rugby league so I always had a pretty good wrestling background, a good base, and that helped with my football. It just meant my balance was always so good; a strong core, good hips and just things like that just really played a factor in how I ran the ball and tackled.”

Australian mixed martial artist, born 1988

Alexander Volkanovski is an Australian mixed martial artist, born in 1988, who competes in the Featherweight division of the Ultimate Fighting Championship. He is the current and two-time UFC Featherweight Champion, and the first Australian-born fighter to win a UFC title. Before joining the UFC, Volkanovski was the Australian Fighting Championship Featherweight champion, and he also had a professional boxing bout in 2015. He is widely regarded as one of the leading featherweights in mixed martial arts, with a career built around championship success at 145 pounds.