Read about Alexander Volkanovski’s unstoppable rise to featherweight greatness in the sport of mixed martial arts. Discover the secret to his success and his latest defense at 145 pounds.
Alexander Volkanovski: The Unstoppable Featherweight
Just over a week ago, Alexander Volkanovski furthered his legacy in the sport of mixed martial arts with the fifth successful defense of his UFC featherweight title. Having previously retained the belt through two challenges from Max Holloway and one apiece from Brian Ortega and ‘The Korean Zombie’ Chan Sung Jung, Volkanovski faced the unique threat of Yair Rodríguez in the UFC 290 main event.
While the Mexican entered the International Fight Week event with interim gold in his possession, momentum from a victory over Josh Emmett, and many backing him to pull off an upset, he ultimately became the latest victim of the Australian kingpin’s dominance at 145 pounds.
In the aftermath of his July 8 triumph in Las Vegas, many have insisted that Volkanovski has cemented himself as the division’s GOAT, with the likes of bantamweight titleholder Aljamain Sterling even placing him in the overall conversation alongside the likes of Jon Jones and Georges St-Pierre.
And one of Volkanovski’s coaches has detailed one aspect of the champ that’s helped him achieve that level of success thus far. During a recent interview with Combat TV, City Kickboxing founder Eugene Bareman assessed Volkanovski’s latest defense at 145 pounds. While the Aussie does much of his training under Joe Lopez at the Freestyle Fighting Gym, he’s frequently seen on the mats at Bareman’s New Zealand-based facility.
The CKB head coach praised Lopez for his strategies and Volkanovski for adequately following them come fight night. But above all else, Bareman thinks ‘Alexander the Great’ has a work ethic that is second to none.
‘He talks about how he’s constantly learning and finding a new level, well he literally does find a new level. He’s just a perfect student. If Joe sets a gameplan down, it’s a very thorough gameplan and Volk knows, ‘That’s what I have to do,” Bareman said.
‘He has complete faith in Joe’s strategy… So far, Joe hasn’t been wrong. ‘I’ve been around this sport for a long time and I know some very dedicated men, and I know champions who are the best in the world at this sport. None of them do what Volk does,’ Bareman continued.
‘Volk wins a world championship and I’ve seen him back in the gym within two or three days… He gets on with the art of martial arts and just getting better… Take away the talent, take away how good Joe is as a coach, how good his team is, how good CKB’s contribution is; take that all away and that’s a formula for success that will not fail… This, I think, above everything, is his secret to success.’
While it’s not yet clear what Volkanovski’s next step will be — a second shot at Islam Makhachev’s lightweight title or a featherweight defense against the unbeaten Ilia Topuria — it will undoubtedly present another opportunity at expanding his already illustrious résumé.
reference: www.mmanews.com
