UFC featherweight champion Alexander Volkanovski caught a long pass from Tom Brady during the NFL legend’s speaking tour in Melbourne, Australia.
Alexander The Great was in attendance for ‘An Evening With Tom Brady’ over the weekend when he was unexpectedly called up to partake in the festivities. Brady invited Volkanovski to toss the pigskin across the stage while he continued to give his presentation.
After pointing out how the short passes were too easy, Brady decided to take it up a notch with Volkanovski, to which the fans reacted with loud cheers.
‘Alright Volk, co me on, you gotta go right down the middle,’ Brady said as he pointed towards the isle of the ballroom.
Volkanovski high-fived several attendants before catching a pass that Brady threw all the way from the stage.
UFC featherweight champion Alexander Volkanovski caught a long pass from Tom Brady
Volkanovski is yet to be dethroned since winning the UFC featherweight championship in 2019
Ilia Topuria (L) will challenge Volkanovski for the title in February at UFC 298’s main event
The 145-lb king’s catching ability can be credited to his years playing high-level, competitive rugby. Volkanovski had a successful career playing for the Warilla Gorillas, which he said played a big role in his MMA success.
‘It’s a tough sport, it’s not easy so it’s rolled into MMA pretty well and made me who I am today,’ he told the NZ Herald in 2019. ‘I’m glad I was a part of rugby league, but I’m glad I made the change because look at me now. It’s been a pretty crazy journey.’
Later that year, Volkanovski won the UFC featherweight title by dethroning Max Holloway and began the longest active title reign in the UFC today.
Despite losing both attempts at double-champ status to Islam Makhachev, Voklanovski has soundly beaten every featherweight challenger except for Holloway. Though he lost all three bouts to Volkanovski, the Hawaiian forced his rival to two close decisions in their second and third meetings.
Volkanovski will once again defend his title on February 17 against Ilia Topuria in UFC 298’s main event. Topuria is an undefeated contender from the Republic of Georgia who has finished ten of his 12 fights.
Holding a 26-3 MMA record, Volkanovski enters the fight after splitting his last two outings. Volkanovski defended the featherweight title by knocking out Yair Rodriguez at UFC 290 in July and suffered a knockout loss after filling in on short-notice to fight Makhachev at UFC 294 in October.
