Alexander Volkanovski may have spent some of his high school years playing Rugby in Australia. But at the time, if you asked him whether he’d meet NFL legend Tom Brady one day, he’d probably say no. And if you were to tell him that he’d be a champion of the UFC’s featherweight division, he may have just hit you with the Rugby ball in disbelief. And yet, it has all come to pass.

Recently, ‘The Great’ bumped into Tom Brady who was on his 2-stop Australia tour. The two met in Melbourne at Brady’s show and had a great time together. Brady is also rather close to the UFC’s head honcho Dana White and so the meeting wasn’t so out of place. Here’s what he then said about Volkanovski who has been undefeated in the featherweight division for a while now.

Alexander Volkanovski has been “killing” it

Alexander Volkanovski took Max Holloway‘s featherweight title away in 2019 and since then, nobody has been able to trump him in the featherweight division. Yes, he did lose two bouts between then and now and both were at lightweight against the now pound-for-pound champion of the world, Islam Makhachev.

However, ‘The Great’ has been consistent and deadly at 145 lbs. When he met Brady at his Melbourne show, even the NFL legend couldn’t hold back from praising his grit and talent inside the cage. “. . . it’s also the hardest place to be you know,” Brady said about ‘Volk’ and his reign, “but you’ve been there for a long time, f*cking killing people.”

Being a rather thankful man himself, Volkanovski responded by thanking Brady and counting down the number of days he’s reigned as a champion. “1500 days and counting so we’re going to keep that rolling” he said as the two exchanged words.

Clearly, it’s one GOAT rubbing shoulders with another. While on the show, Brady also threw a pass for Alexander Volkanovski which he caught with much grace thanks to his Rugby experience. Now, he is up to face Ilia Topuria at UFC 298. Could this be the end of his reign?

A talent like no other

Ilia Topuria entered the UFC at the last minute’s notice in 2020, securing a decision win over Youssef Zalal. He is currently 14-o in his professional career. The Georgian-Spanish fighter is a black belt in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu and was exposed to the Greco-Roman style of wrestling in his early days in school.

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To say that he might be Volkanovski’s most exciting opponent in recent years would be an understatement. Yes, Alexander Volkanovski has indeed been a champion for longer than ‘El Matador’ has been in the UFC. It’s also true that there is a question of experience within the promotion’s cage that comes into question. However, no one can deny the sheer force Topuria is inside the cage. He is also coming off a fresh victory over long-timer Josh Emmett. And now, he wants the belt at UFC 298. Will he break Volkanovski’s featherweight streak?

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