Alexander Volkanovski is shorter than the average UFC featherweight. However, Volk’s height is one of the reasons why he is so successful in the UFC.
The height of an average UFC featherweight is 5’7″. Australia’s Alex Volkanovski is a shade under that at 5’6″ yet he is one of the best 145-pound fighters ever in the history of the UFC.
In 16 UFC bouts fought, Voklanovski has been the shorter fighter 15 times. The only time he fought an opponent who wasn’t taller than him was at UFC 232 against a 5’6″ Chad Mendes. Volkanovski won the UFC featherweight title against 5’11” Max Holloway. He proved that the win wasn’t a fluke when here repeated over Max at UFC 251 and won a third fight against the Blessed Express at UFC 276.
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The New South Wales native also successfully defended the 145-pound belt against 5’8″ Brian Ortega, 5’7″ Korean Zombie, and 5’11” Yair Rodriguez. Volkanovski also gave 5’10” UFC lightweight champion Islam Makhachev all that he could handle at UFC 284.
Interestingly, it was Makhachev who called Volkanovski a ‘short guy’ when he challenged him to a super fight after winning the UFC lightweight championship at UFC 280.
“Everyone thinks I’m short, and then I’m punching them in the face, and then the next minute their face changes real quick when I’m in front of them,” Volkanovski said during the UFC 280 post-fight press conference.
Because he is short, opponents take Volk for granted, perhaps thinking that they can just paw away at him from a distance all night long. However, Alexander the Great is no punching bag. He punches back and he has lots of punching power for his size with half of his 26 wins coming by way of knockout. If he doesn’t put his opponents to sleep, Volk beats them up with an impressive striking game that utilizes speed, movement, footwork, and a very high fight IQ.
Volkanovski lands an average of 6.74 significant strikes per minute which is 4th best overall in the history of the featherweight division. He holds a striking differential of 2.96 which is by far the best in the history of the 145-pound weight class.
He also ranks third overall in total significant strikes landed in the featherweight division at 1,367. Alex also owns the second-longest winning streak in the division at 11 fights. His six title fight wins rank second to Jose Aldo’s 8 as the most in the history of the UFC’s 145-pound division.
“I’ve been short all my life. I was short when I was in rugby league. I’ve been short since I’ve been fighting and in all the things I’ve done [athletically]. I’ve managed to deal with it, I guess. I’m a short fellow, and I’ve always had to find ways in and all that stuff, so I’ve built a whole style around myself and my height.”
Alex Volkanovski
There’s no doubt that Alexander Volkanovski is one of the best featherweight fighters in the history of the UFC. And there’s also no question that he’s used his height – or the lack thereof to his advantage. You can even make an argument that Alex wouldn’t have been as successful in the UFC if he were taller.