Footage of a young Alexander Volkanovski campaigning for a call up to the big stage comes to light after Australian leapfrogged Kamaru Usman to be named the pound for pound champion of the UFC.
Success does not come overnight, as evidenced by Alexander Volkanovski. He might be on top of the UFC roster right now, but he previously struggled to make it into the big leagues. A new video surfaced in fall out from his P2P triumph celebrating how far he’s come.
Volkanovski took the top of the pound-to-pound UFC ranking when Kamaru Usman suffered a devastating headkick knock out to Leon Edwards.
The Australian is known as a complete package. He is also undefeated in UFC and has an overall MMA record of 25 wins and only one loss. He had come across many hurdles during his career to achieve this status.
The footage shows a TV program in Sydney featuring Volkanovski pleading with the UFC’s upper management to give him a contract. Wearing his Wollongong Wars Lightweight Championship belt, Volkanovski is seen appealing to the UFC to invite him to their UFC FN 85 event, held in Brisbane in 2016.
He said,
“Like everything it’s a business,’ ‘It’s not only how you fight, it’s all about marketing and promoting and you got to sell the seats. ‘That’s what I’m trying to work on now, I really want to push my #SignVolkanovski campaign that I’m doing.”
UFC did not approve his request then but gave him a chance later that year in November 2016. He got his first victory in his Debut match against Yusuke Kasuya in Melbourne. After this, he got more high-profile opponents like Chad Mendes, Jose Aldo, Korean Zombie, Brian Ortega, and Max Holloway and remained undefeated.
Currently, Volkanovski is recovering from a hand injury. He is expected to be back in February next year at the UFC event in Sydney. It will also mark a return to his hometown and he’ll surely get a big name for the night.