Corey Nelson may look like an average joe operating a crane in Sydney’s business district. However, he has done something that no other man in the world has — he’s beaten Alexander Volkanovski.
Nelson is an ex mixed martial artist who’s now making a living working a blue-collar job. However, he did the unthinkable when he finished the current P4P best combatant in the world back in 2013.
He faced Volkanovski in the co-main event at Australian FC 5. This was a card with several current and former UFC competitors, including Dan Hooker, Jake Mathews, and Dan Kelly.
While Volkanovski is now the undisputed king of the featherweight division, back then, Nelson fought him in the welterweight class.
Nelson was able to finish the “Great” one thirteen seconds into the third round. He got a TKO via kicks and punches.
A clip of the finish is making the rounds on social media. It shows Nelson kicking Volk three times and then ending the match with hammer fists as the ref steps in.
It also shows comically large Nelson is compared to Volk. As a result, he clearly has a tough time dealing with Nelson’s size and reach advantage.
Years later after this fight, the Daily Telegraph talked to Nelson to discuss his victory. He described the moment he dropped Volkanovski.
“After that third kick, yeah, Volk was gone. His eyes, they rolled into the back of his head. I remember as he hit the deck, he started to come too as I came in with the hammer fist … which is when the referee stopped it. He wasn’t coming back.”
Nelson saw that Volkanovski had something special in him, despite no one knowing him at the time. He said that he’s proud to be a part of his rise to the top and considers him one of the GOATs of the sport.
“Sharing the cage with him, I saw what everyone else now sees,” the “Major” said.
“His heart. What that guy has, you can’t teach it. Back then, Alex was on absolutely nobody’s radar. Yet now he’s in the GOAT conversation. To be a little part of his journey, it’s a nice story to tell at the pub.”
Of course, Volkanovski isn’t the only UFC champion that Nelson has faced.
He also went up against former middleweight champion Robert Whittaker before his UFC success. “Bobby Knuckles” faced him back in 2011 and submitted him with an armbar.