What martial arts does Alexander Volkanovski use in the UFC?

Alexander Volkanovski is an Australian MMA fighter who is arguably one of the greatest ever to compete inside the cage. During his career, he enjoyed a dominant spell as the featherweight champion where he saw off various elite fighters in the UFC. In short, it’s not just talking – as he also has the wins to back up these claims.

In this article, we’ve looked at what martial arts Alexander Volkanovksi uses whilst fighting MMA. Here, we’ll look at what he uses in the heat of battle, as well as what he’s trained in the gym. Whilst all top MMA fighters are pretty rounded, some of his fighting skills may just surprise you.

Martial arts used by Alexander Volkanovski

Kickboxing & Muay Thai

Over the years, Volkanovski has trained alongside Eugene Bareman who is a legendary kickboxing coach from New Zealand. Here, Volkanovski would train at his iconic City Kickboxing gym. Aside from Volkanovski, Bareman has also trained the likes of Israel Adesanya who is also a UFC champion. Coincidence? Perhaps, but this undoubtedly shows just how good Bareman is when it comes to throwing kicks.

Although Volkanovski isn’t the tallest or lankiest fighter in the world – he can still use a good variety of kicks. These include low kicks such as teeps and calf kicks to keep his opponents at bay, but he can also mix it up and target the head if needed. Having said this, it’s not too surprising as he is a UFC champion after all.

In terms of Muay Thai, like many MMA fighters – Volkanovski has also trained in Phuket which is the heart of Muay Thai in Thailand. This location for training Muay Thai is optimal and lots of top fighters choose this option. The reason for this is that many of the Thai fighters here are high level and make for good sparring opponents. Undoubtedly, you can learn a lot from visiting Thailand, so it makes for a good investment where Muay Thai is concerned.

Brazilian Jiu Jitsu

Volkanovski is also a black belt in Brazilian Jiu Jistu under Joe Lopez. Again, this isn’t too surprising if you’ve seen him fight. Although he’s primarily a brawler who likes to strike, his defensive BJJ is second to none. Many fans will remember his classic fight against Brian Ortega – here he was caught in a very tight guillotine and triangle choke yet someone survived and escaped, eventually going on to win.

These submission holds would have submitted most, but not Volkanovski. When thinking about BJJ, many people think about fighters with great offense, but Volkanovski proved it’s useful in terms of escapes. Without this, he wouldn’t have remained a UFC champion for as long, which says it all.

Typically when attacking, Volkanovski will also use BJJ to gain top pins such as mount and side control, rather than go after submissions. In this sense, his style on the floor is similar to Khabib where he’ll look to slowly grind down his opponents and punch them, rather than go for a quick submission. He has also trained with fellow Australian grappler Craig Jones who is regarded as one of the best in the world when it comes to ground fighting.

Boxing

Perhaps Volkanovski’s biggest asset is his knockout power – and it’s fair to say that he hits like a truck. This will have been taught after training boxing for many years. Of course, kickboxing will also have helped his striking – but more so by using his feet. When using his hands though, his power and timing come from the sweet science.

Interestingly, back in 2015 Volkanovski had his one and only professional boxing match which he won. This took place during his MMA career whilst he was still fighting in Australia, before making the move to the UFC. Like many top MMA fighters, Volkanovski probably could have had a decent career as a boxer, but chose to continue with MMA which was probably due to his continued success in the cage at the time.

Greco Roman wrestling

Before MMA, Volkanovski trained Greco Roman wrestling. Interestingly, he did this to keep fit in between playing Rubgy which was his main hobby whilst younger. This kind of makes sense too, seeing as Greco Roman can be incorporated into rugby as well. Unlike most non-combat sports, rugby is quite physical and involves a lot of grappling. Sometimes, you will need to tackle the opponent to win the ball off them which can look like a double leg takedown.

So, a young Volkanovski opted for Greco Roman which exclusively uses upper body holds and throws. At the time, he may not have known it but this would turn into ideal training for MMA as wrestling is very important whilst fighting. Years of wrestling have meant that Volkanovski has a strong base and is difficult to takedown and sweep. It also acts offensively when he wants to take down opponents if so desired.

Conclusion

Based on the above, it’s fair to say that Alexander Volkanovski is a well-rounded mixed martial artist. This is to be expected too, considering his past history and you can’t become an MMA champion these days without putting in work across multiple disciplines. This also means that fighting Volkanovksi would be incredibly difficult. Unlike some MMA fighters from earlier generations, Volkanovski has no real weakness and knows what he’s doing in all areas.

So, if you were to fight him then it’s not like you could easily take him down or out-punch him. At this point, his MMA record speaks for itself and puts this theory into practice, where he’s clearly a tough fight for everyone. In short, it’s fair to say that Volkanovski combines kickboxing, boxing, BJJ, and wrestling which makes him a very dangerous martial artist.