What makes Alexander Volkanovski special isn’t a single elite skill or genetic gift, he simply outworks everyone
Throughout his career, he has beaten fighters who were technically superior grapplers, wrestlers, and strikers on paper.
The danger for naturally gifted fighters is that they regularly dominate their training partners.
Winning easily builds supreme confidence, but it can also build a false sense of security.
When preparing for someone like Volk, a talented opponent might research him & watch videos & conclude that he lacks an elite pedigree, no high-level wrestling background and no extensive pre-MMA striking career.
Inside the octagon, that assumption crumbles. When an opponent lands their best combinations or takedowns (the exact moves that broken their sparring partners in camp) it has no effect.
Volk doesn’t break; he just comes back stronger.
Having spent years overcoming adversity and fighting from behind, he enters every fight ready to earn the win rather than expecting it.
As coaches we often build fighters up by telling them how special or talented they are. But over time, I’ve wondered if this actually hinders them in the long term.
Once a fighter believes they are special, it’s easy to stop working as hard. What if, instead, we told them: “You are not special, and you will lose this fight if you don’t work your ass off”?
It takes a rare, Volk-level mindset to accept that truth and use it as fuel. That relentless grit is exactly why he is one of the greatest.