Alexander Volkanovski

Overview

Sixteen UFC wins, and not one of them came in the first round. Alexander Volkanovski, the Featherweight champion, builds his work over distance: six finishes in sixteen wins, all of them in rounds two through four.

The numbers behind that are lopsided in his favor. He lands far more than the average UFC fighter and with far better accuracy. His striking defense and takedown defense both sit above the average too. Submission attempts are the one far-below-average stat, and that fits a record with zero submission wins.

His UFC record is 16-3 across 19 fights, with 12 wins in a row as his longest streak. He carries a three-fight win streak into his next fight.

Nineteen fights, six wins over elite opposition.

UFC Career

Volkanovski debuted in 2016 and started with a second-round TKO of Yusuke Kasuya. Decisions over Mizuto Hirota and Shane Young followed, then a late stoppage of Jeremy Kennedy at 4:57 of round two.

The first big step came in 2018 and 2019. He beat Darren Elkins by decision, stopped Chad Mendes in round two, then took a unanimous decision over Jose Aldo. Elkins and Aldo both rate as elite opponents in our model.

Then came three five-round fights with Max Holloway: a unanimous decision in December 2019, a split decision in July 2020 and another unanimous decision in July 2022. Three wins over one elite opponent, none by finish. In between he beat Brian Ortega over five rounds in a main event and stopped Chan Sung Jung in round four.

Then the run broke. Islam Makhachev beat him by unanimous decision in February 2023. Yair Rodriguez was stopped in round three that July, but Makhachev returned in October with a first-round KO at 3:06. Ilia Topuria followed in February 2024 with a round-two KO. That's three losses in four fights, two of them by knockout. Before then he had never been stopped in the UFC.

He answered with a unanimous decision over Diego Lopes in April 2025 and won their rematch the same way at UFC 325, a title fight. The streak reached three when he stopped Movsar Evloev at 4:54 of round two at UFC 333, another title fight and a main event against an elite opponent.

Three losses, three wins since.

Fighting Style

Alexander Volkanovski is a busy, accurate striker who is hard to hit. He lands a lot, wastes little, and takes less in return than most of the UFC.

He is also very hard to take down. His own takedown attempts are about what you would expect, and he rarely hunts for submissions.

All six of his finishes are knockouts, and none came in the first round. Four came in round two, one in round three and one in round four. Ten of his 16 wins went the distance.

Notable Wins

• Max Holloway — unanimous decision, round 5, UFC 245 (2019)
• Max Holloway — split decision, round 5, UFC 251 (2020)
• Jose Aldo — unanimous decision, round 3, UFC 237 (2019)
• Movsar Evloev — KO/TKO, round 2, 4:54, UFC 333 (2026)

Quick Facts

• Division: Featherweight (champion)
• UFC record: 16-3 (6 KO/TKO wins, 10 decision wins)
• Professional record (all promotions): 29-4-0
• UFC debut: 2016
• Reach: 71.5"
• Height: 5'6"
• Team: Freestyle Fighting Gym
• Born: Wollongong, NSW, Australia