Before Alexander Volkanovski became a UFC champion, he was a standout rugby player and he proved that by catching a laser pass from Tom Brady better than many NFL wide receivers.
Tom Brady has thrown and completed more passes than any player in the history of the NFL. He added one more recently, albeit not in an NFL stadium.
The seven-time Super Bowl champion was in Melbourne last week for a two-stop speaking tour of Australia and during his ‘An Evening with Tom Brady’ event, he demonstrated his elite passing skills with the help of a special guest.
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UFC Featherweight champion Alexander Volkanovski is deep in his training for his upcoming title defence. But Volk took the time off to attend Brady’s speaking engagement and he got more than what he came there for.
Volkanovski was recognised and called on stage to meet TB12. After they exchanged pleasantries, Brady told Volk that UFC matchmaker Sean Selby is his first cousin and he used to take him to UFC bouts.
“I’ve been watching UFC forever, and I love you and I love everything you do. You have no idea the effect you have in our locker room when all would sit there and watch all your fights.”
Tom Brady
Volk returned the favour by telling Brady that he couldn’t miss his show because he was looking for added motivation heading to his upcoming fight. That was a cool moment for Volkanovski but if he thought that was it, he was wrong.
Brady asked Volk to run a route into the crowd and catch a long football pass from Brady. Of course, Alex caught it like a pro.
While some were surprised at how easily Volkanovski made that catch, it’s good to know that Alexander ‘The Great’ was once a standout rugby player.
Volk played semi-professional rugby for the Warilla Gorillas in Australia’s Group 7 Rugby League. The UFC champion even won the Mick Cronin medal as the league’s best player in 2010. He also won Man of the Match honours when the Gorillas won the 2011 Grand Final against Gerringong.
But Volkanovski gave up rugby later that year to enter mixed martial arts. After conquering the local scene via the AFC and Wollongong Wars promotions, he took his talents to the United States and signed with the UFC.
Volkanovski won the UFC featherweight title in his 8th UFC bout, defeating Max Holloway at UFC 245 and repeating over Blessed in a rematch one fight later at UFC 251. Volk has successfully defended the title five times and will defend it for the sixth time against Ilia Topuria at UFC 298 on February 17, 2024, at the Honda Center in Anaheim, California.