Alexander Volkanovski is an Australian professional mixed martial artist. He is currently signed with the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC), where he competes in the featherweight division, holding the featherweight belt.
At a young age Alex liked wrestling, training in Greco-Roman wrestling. He went on to win a national title twice by the age of twelve, before deciding to pursue a career in rugby. He played as a semi-professional for the Warilla Gorillas in the South Coast Rugby League.
Alex won many awards and accolades during his semi-pro rugby career. He played an important part in the Warilla’s 2011 Premiership winning season, receiving a Man of the Match award in the Grand Final victory.
At the end of 2011 though, Alex decided to train in Mixed Martial Arts and quit rugby. He wanted to become a professional athlete, having been fan of the UFC since he was fourteen. He often rented UFC VHS tapes and even purchased pay per views.
Even before deciding to pursue a career in MMA, Alex still continued to wrestle during the rugby league off seasons. He quickly became even better, adding good counter striking and a powerful overhand to his skillset. His first few amaeture fights were in the middle division as he slowly lost his rugby weight.
He began his professional MMA career in 2012, slowly moving down from welterweight to lightweight and then the featherweight division. He fought in various different organisations, with the goal of reaching the UFC. He won 13 fights and lost only 1, before finally getting a contract with the UFC in 2016.
His progress was pretty amazing, beating everyone in his path to get a shot at the featherweight championship in 2019, against Max Holloway. He won the fight by a unanimous decision, becoming the featherweight champion. Alex has only lost once in the UFC, by unanimous decision when he moved up to lightweight to face Islam Makhachev.
Alexander Volkanovski Profile
| Date of Birth | 29 September 1988 |
| Height | 1.68m / 5ft 6″ |
| Body Measurements (Chest/Arms/Waist) | 36/ 14/ 30 (inches) |
| Weight | 66kg / 145 lb |
Diet Plan
Alexander Volkanovski follows a pretty strict diet plan when he’s preparing for fights. He usually has six small meals per day, eating between 2500- 3500 calories, in a calorie deficit. He still tries to eat healthy even when he’s not fighting, allowing him to stay at his physical best.
As a professional MMA athlete, his diet is typically very high in protein, complex carbohydrates and healthy fats. He usually takes supplements to help him meet his nutritional needs, without having to consume extra calories. Supplements also allow him to get the best out of his training and be more efficient.
He also tries to add intermittent fasting in to his diet sometimes, to help him make weight for his fight division. His diet needs to be well balanced to prevent him from being overweight or too underweight, which can have a negative impact on his health.
Alexander Volkanovski has a pretty low body fat percentage during his fight preparation, at around 11%. Too much fat can slow him down, reducing his striking ability and overall performance. His body fat when he’s not fighting is usually around 15%.
He tries to stay away from oily foods and unhealthy fats, especially during his fights. When he’s not fighting he does like to enjoy himself and not restrict his diet, but he still tries to eat in moderation.
| Meal 1 | Fruit smoothie with protein powder and pancakes with honey or maple syrup |
| Meal 2 | Protein bar |
| Meal 3 | Chicken breast with white rice and salad |
| Meal 4 | Protein chocolate milk with raisins and banana |
| Meal 5 | Salmon with steamed vegetables |
| Meal 6 | Grilled chicken with broccoli |
Meal 1
For breakfast, Alex usually goes for a fruit smoothie with protein powder followed by some pancakes with honey. Since he likes to train in the morning, having a breakfast low in fiber and high in carbs is beneficial. Having carbs early in the morning provides him with sustained energy throughout the day.
Meal 2
Just before his workout, he typically has a protein bar. Protein bars are a great low calorie snack, high in protein and carbs. This also helps with his blood sugar levels, giving him efficiency with his training.
Meal 3
After his workout he has his first large meal of the day, which includes chicken breast with white rice and some salad. He tries to have a high carb meal to replace the glycogen lost during his workout. Chicken and rice is a great meal, providing him with a good balance of essential macronutrients.
Meal 4
Alex typically trains twice a day, so before his afternoon training session, he goes for protein chocolate milk with raisins and a banana. This supports his training, making it easier for him to deal with the high intensity.
Meal 5
His post workout meal in the afternoon usually includes salmon and steamed vegetables. This meal depends on the intensity of his workout, but typically involves high protein. Salmon is a great source of lean protein. It’s also high in omega-3 fatty acids, which are essential fats that the body needs.
Meal 6
Alex’s final meal of the day includes grilled chicken with some broccoli. He generally tries to consume a lot of protein at the end of the day, to help repair his muscles. Sometimes though, he does like to add some carbs in to the meal, usually pasta or quinoa, to help prepare for the next day of high level training.
Supplements
Alex takes supplements to prevent any nutrition deficiency. As his diet requires him to consume a certain amount of calories, he can’t get all nutrients from natural foods.
- Protein powder
- Beta Alanine
- Caffeine
- Intra-workout carbs
- Electrolytes
Workout Plan
Alexander Volkanovski has a stringent workout plan, when preparing for fights. As a world champion, it’s important he maintains his optimal physical condition, as well as targeting weaker areas. Many athletes make the mistake of relaxing when they’ve reached the top, but Alex likes to push himself every day, constantly improving.
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His general training day includes two sessions. He works out for a few hours in the morning, followed by an hour in the afternoon. He does a lot of cardio work and sparring practice as part of his training, to better prepare for fights.
A lot of his workouts include strength training at a high intensity, allowing him to generate more power. He also focuses on muscular endurance to prevent fatigue and tiredness when he’s fighting, allowing him to perform at his optimal level for longer.
Workout intensity varies, but Alex likes to push himself to the limit. He often shares videos of his brutal training sessions on social media, showing the variety of indoor and outdoor exercises he has to do. His fight preparation is also different based on the ability of his opponents.
Lactic Training
This involves high intensity circuit training, which targets various muscles to help improve endurance. He usually does it with no rest over 3 sets, each exercise being done for 40 seconds. Improving lactic tolerance is important to condition the body, tolerating increasing lactic acid levels.
- Kicking bag
- Ball slams
- Punching bag
- Squat jumps
- Press ups
- Exercise bike
Power Training
- Side to side ball slams 3 sets X 10 reps
- Resistance band forward step 3 sets X 10 reps
- Single leg box jumps 3 sets X 15 reps
- Dumbbell lunges 3 sets X 15 reps
- Barbell hip thrusts 3 sets X 10 reps
- Landmine shoulder throw and catch 3 sets X 10 reps
- Weighted pull ups 3 sets X 10 reps
- Back rows 3 sets X 10 reps
- Sled push (30 metres)
- Sled pull (30 metres)
Agility Training
He usually starts off his agility training with some stretches, followed by sprinting stairs, typically for 2 minutes. Sometimes he does hill sprints, over 3 laps for 60 seconds each time.
- Hurdle jumps 3 sets X 10 reps
- Side step and jump 3 sets X 10 reps
- Resistance band running (30 metres)
- Stability ball plank (60 seconds)
Sparring
His sparring sessions last a couple hours and targets a variety of different skills.
- Pad work
- Takedown training
- Wrestling
- Brazilian Jiu-jitsu
Alexander Volkanovski has a YouTube channel, where he often shares videos from his training camps. He even has his own cooking show, where he shows how to make healthy meals.
