The Film Room: Alexander Volkanovski
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Opportunity knocks -- and loudly so -- for Alexander Volkanovski, as he will confront former Ultimate Fighting Championship featherweight titleholder Jose Aldo at UFC 237 on Saturday in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. A win over Aldo would likely put the once-beaten Aussie in position to challenge Max Holloway for the 145-pound crown later this year.
Volkanovski, 30, steps into the spotlight in this installment of
The Film Room.
Once the fight is on the ground, Volkanovski possesses an interesting grappling style. He will immediately posture up and look to finish the fight with ground-and-pound and, in fact, two of his six UFC wins have resulted from his going that route. He also rarely concerns himself with passing guard to improve the position and even lets opponents get to their feet at times since he knows he can pressure them back to the cage and land another takedown. This is the same tactic that Khabib Nurmagomedov utilizes, and it is incredibly tiring and demoralizing for opponents to get back to their feet and then immediately getting taken down again. Although he is a brown belt in jiu-jitsu, Volkanovski is not much of a submission threat; however, his ground-and-pound can open up possible submissions.
On the feet, Volkanovski is a fairly standard striker and often gets by on his overhand right. He will occasionally throw a leg kick or lead-leg head kick, but more often than not, he is strictly looking for the overhand right to set up takedowns and clinch entries. Something to notice: Volkanovski will throw the overhand right and leave his hand extended to grab a single collar tie and initiate the clinch. This is something on which Daniel Cormier has made a living. Against Darren Elkins, Volkanovski crossed his feet and placed his right leg behind Elkins while throwing the overhand. Even if the overhand does not land, Volkanovski is now in perfect position to land a takedown. His game may be simple, but it is nice to see that he can use intelligent little tricks to set up his grappling.
Volkanovski is normally the leading attacker, but we have seen him slow down at times and have success on the counter. He is quite good at drawing a jab out of the opponent, slipping it in the pocket and coming back with a counter right. However, like his leading attacks, his counters are predictable, and the right striker should be able to see them coming and make him pay for it.
Volkanovski can be a tricky and dominant grappler, but his predictable standup figures to catch up to him at some point. He will often get stuck throwing the same overhand right to lead-leg head kick combo over and over again, and as the fight goes on, his opponents start to notice and can easily avoid it. If Volkanovski can learn to feint his way into the pocket and mix up his attacks with greater regularity, he will have much more success on the feet. His striking looked much improved in his last fight against Chad Mendes, as he surprisingly picked apart “Money” on the feet. With that said, Aldo is a great counterstriker when he applies himself and should manage to exploit these holes more than any of Volkanovski’s previous opponents.
Opportunity knocks -- and loudly so -- for Alexander Volkanovski, as he will confront former Ultimate Fighting Championship featherweight titleholder Jose Aldo at UFC 237 on Saturday in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. A win over Aldo would likely put the once-beaten Aussie in position to challenge Max Holloway for the 145-pound crown later this year.
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Volkanovski’s game is rather simple, but he is one of the most
taxing fighters to face in the UFC. He loves to grind out opponents
on the ground or against the cage in the clinch. His best work is
done along the fence, whether it be striking or grappling that
forces opponents to carry his weight for long stretches while
slowly draining their cardio. Although he wants the fight on the
ground, Volkanovski rarely shoots for standard double- and
single-leg takedowns. Instead, he likes to pressure the opponent to
the cage with strikes and use the fence to secure the takedown.
Once the fight is on the ground, Volkanovski possesses an interesting grappling style. He will immediately posture up and look to finish the fight with ground-and-pound and, in fact, two of his six UFC wins have resulted from his going that route. He also rarely concerns himself with passing guard to improve the position and even lets opponents get to their feet at times since he knows he can pressure them back to the cage and land another takedown. This is the same tactic that Khabib Nurmagomedov utilizes, and it is incredibly tiring and demoralizing for opponents to get back to their feet and then immediately getting taken down again. Although he is a brown belt in jiu-jitsu, Volkanovski is not much of a submission threat; however, his ground-and-pound can open up possible submissions.
On the feet, Volkanovski is a fairly standard striker and often gets by on his overhand right. He will occasionally throw a leg kick or lead-leg head kick, but more often than not, he is strictly looking for the overhand right to set up takedowns and clinch entries. Something to notice: Volkanovski will throw the overhand right and leave his hand extended to grab a single collar tie and initiate the clinch. This is something on which Daniel Cormier has made a living. Against Darren Elkins, Volkanovski crossed his feet and placed his right leg behind Elkins while throwing the overhand. Even if the overhand does not land, Volkanovski is now in perfect position to land a takedown. His game may be simple, but it is nice to see that he can use intelligent little tricks to set up his grappling.
Volkanovski is normally the leading attacker, but we have seen him slow down at times and have success on the counter. He is quite good at drawing a jab out of the opponent, slipping it in the pocket and coming back with a counter right. However, like his leading attacks, his counters are predictable, and the right striker should be able to see them coming and make him pay for it.
Volkanovski can be a tricky and dominant grappler, but his predictable standup figures to catch up to him at some point. He will often get stuck throwing the same overhand right to lead-leg head kick combo over and over again, and as the fight goes on, his opponents start to notice and can easily avoid it. If Volkanovski can learn to feint his way into the pocket and mix up his attacks with greater regularity, he will have much more success on the feet. His striking looked much improved in his last fight against Chad Mendes, as he surprisingly picked apart “Money” on the feet. With that said, Aldo is a great counterstriker when he applies himself and should manage to exploit these holes more than any of Volkanovski’s previous opponents.
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