When you hear of a featherweight taking on a middleweight in any martial art scenario, the odds are always on the bigger guy. But if you happen to be former UFC featherweight champ Alexander Volkanovski, then you just might be the better choice.
A brand new video shows Volkanovski grappling a heavyweight.
This is reminiscent of a video released a couple years ago which showed Volkanovski sparring with UFC middleweight champion Israel Adesanya and taking him down. We know Adesanya has a great ground game and is much bigger than Volkanovski. But he nevertheless manages to overpower ‘The Last Stylebender’ relatively easily.
They struggle for a bit with Adesanya doing his best to avoid getting taken down. But Adesanya attempts a flying triangle only to get shut down but is ultimately toppled by the much smaller Volkanovski into an under guard.
As one of the top grappling specialists in the world, Craig Jones has shared the mats with some of the most talented martial artists on the planet. But when he first encountered current UFC featherweight champion Alexander Volkanovski, he was blown away by the Aussie’s unrelenting cardio.
In a recent interview, Jones recounted his initial sparring session with Volkanovski, which occurred long before “The Great” became an MMA superstar. At the time, Volkanovski was a rising prospect looking to sharpen his grappling skills, and Jones was the perfect training partner to help him do just that.
“Back when I first met him, I was really impressed with his gas tank,” Jones said. “He just would not stop moving. I’d be trying to, you know, work my submissions and stuff, and he would just keep exploding out of everything.”
According to Jones, Volkanovski’s cardio was on a different level compared to most grapplers he had encountered. No matter how hard Jones pushed the pace, the future UFC champ seemed to have an endless well of energy to draw from.
“I’d be trying to set up triangles and armbars and stuff, and he would just keep moving,” Jones explained. “He never got tired. It was crazy. I was like, ‘This guy’s got an unbelievable gas tank.'”
Jones’ revelation speaks to the well-rounded nature of Volkanovski’s skillset. While the Australian is renowned for his powerful striking and wrestling, his conditioning has always been a key component of his success.
We can’t wait to see Volkanovski back in action!
