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Alexander Volkanovski is the first Australian to be crowned the UFC No. 1 pound-for-pound fighter

Alexander Volkanovski is the first Australian to be crowned the UFC No. 1 pound-for-pound fighter

The UFC star is the certified pound-for-pound best fighter across all divisions following Kamaru Usman's defeat to Leon Edwards.

Jayden Collins

Jayden Collins

Alexander Volkanovski can officially update his name from ‘The Great’ to ‘The Greatest’.

The UFC star is the certified pound-for-pound best fighter across all divisions, becoming the first Australian to receive the distinction.

The current featherweight champion jumped from No. 2 in the ranking to top billing after former welterweight champion Kamaru Usman’s shock loss to Leon Edwards.

A brutal head kick in the final minute of the final round of the UFC 278 main event caught Usman and the rest of the MMA stunned.

It signalled the Nigerian’s first loss in the UFC with his record now standing at 15-1.

Unfortunately for the Nigerian Nightmare, the UFC pound-for-pound rankings are a competitive game, with his loss seeing him drop to fourth position.

The likes of Charles Oliveira and Israel Adesanya, along with the Aussie fighter jumped above him in the process. 

Volkanovski on the other hand has been on a tear for the past few years and has not lost in the UFC since his debut in 2016.

He has cemented his position as the king of the featherweight division by defeating some of the best in the game in Max Holloway, Brain Ortega, Chad Mendes, and Jose Aldo.

Following his trilogy victory against Max Holloway at UFC 276, the featherweight champ outlined his intention to hold two UFC straps.

He’s been outspoken in his desire to step up and take on the lightweight division and become a UFC double-champion.

And let’s be honest, in the form he’s in you’d have to expect he’s next in line for the winner of Charles Oliveira and Islam Makachev at UFC 280.

He would become one of just a handful of men to hold two UFC championships at the same, joining the likes of BJ Penn, Randy Couture, Conor McGregor, George St-Pierre, Daniel Cormier, Amanda Nunes, and Henry Cejudo.

His latest distinction as the best fighter in all of the UFC is an incredible achievement, but his ambitions don’t end there.

He told SPORTbible Australia last month: “I feel like I’m destined for greatness.

“I don’t care about pound-for-pound and all that, I’m just expecting to raise the bar every time I go out there.

“All these statuses that people want to bring up, I plan on claiming them all.”

The Aussie certifies himself as one of the greatest athletes from the country in modern times and there are surely even bigger things to come.

Featured Image Credit: UFC 276/Main Event. Alexander Volkanoski/Instagram.

Topics: Australia, MMA, UFC, Alexander Volkanoski

Jayden Collins is a Journalist at SPORTbible. He has worked across multiple media platforms in areas such as sport, music, pop culture, entertainment and politics. He is part of the editorial team for LADbible Australia.