Alexander Volkanovski- MILITAR MINDSET

Alexander Volkanovski is currently the featherweight champion in the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC). He is currently on an insane winning streak losing just once in his professional career, going 19 fights unbeaten since the loss, 8 of those whilst being in the UFC!

It is well documented that Volkanovski made his transition into mixed martial arts (MMA) from rugby. He weighed around 214 pounds whilst playing rugby, now he fights at 145 pounds!

He achieved his dream of becoming the world champion after putting on a great performance against one of the best featherweights of all time, Max Holloway in 2019.

Becoming just the second ever Australian UFC champion (the first was Robert Whittaker). They went on to have a rematch where Volkanovski won again. This time it was via split decision.

Though a decision where many people dispute who the winner should have been, Volkanovski remains the champion.

Nevertheless, Volkanovski has shown what hard work and dedication can do for you. He had a dream and he worked tirelessly to get to it. He has the MILITAR MINDSET!

How has Volkanovski displayed the MILITAR MINDSET?

Volkanovski has shown us just how strong his MINDSET is. He has stayed positive throughout his journey to the top, staying in good physical and mental shape.

Born in Shellharbour, Australia, Volkanovski was raised by both his parents. He was first introduced to martial arts when he was 12 and began Greco-Roman wrestling.

However, it didn’t last long as by the age of 14, he decided to focus more on his rugby career. Another 11 years passed and Volkanovski continued to play rugby as a semi-professional, but decided he wanted to get back into martial arts.

At 23 years of age, Volkanovski quit rugby league to pursue his mixed martial arts dreams. He always believed he had what it took to get there, but he had to prove to others that he was capable of being the best too.

So he made sure that he worked to the best of his abilities. Ensuring he was ready for any opponent that stepped foot into the octagon against him.

He has proven that he can come prepared every time (bar the one fight he lost earlier on in his career) and is the better fighter. His tremendous self-belief has driven him to where he is now.

This was evident when he first fought Max Holloway. No one really gave Volkanovski a chance against Holloway, though he was on an incredible winning streak.

Holloway had remained dominant over the division for years defeating greats like Jose Aldo. Volkanovski didn’t care about what people had to say.

He believed he was going to win and that was all that mattered. He showed that night he was the best after putting on a great performance.

The two went on to have a rematch where many people thought Holloway did enough to win, but Volkanovski came out on top in the judge’s eyes.

But both fighters showed they were at the top of the division for a reason! Volkanovski was able to recover from a bad start and show his skills by mixing in his wrestling too.

Again showing his desire and belief in himself. Even though he didn’t have the greatest start to the fight, he made adjustments, as that is what champions do!

Volkanovski told us ‘I’m going to be a great champion’. Here he shows us just how strongly he believes in what he can accomplish. His mindset is strong and he wants to prove why he is the best in the world by defeating the other people on top of the division.

Volkanovski has shown us it doesn’t matter who doesn’t believe in you. As long as you believe in yourself, that is all that matters. Even if people don’t believe in your dream, make sure you do!

Volkanovski’s journey so far is INSPIRATIONAL!

Volkanovski has INSPIRED people with his journey to becoming the champion. As stated before he was a rugby player prior to starting his mixed martial arts career.

He started to train in MMA during the off season of rugby to stay in shape, starting at the age of 22. It was here he found his true passion and realised his dream.

He wanted to become a champion in MMA. Many people would think, isn’t this too late? He has already been focusing on his rugby career, showing talent in the sport, why not stick with that?

Volkanovski had the desire to become a UFC champion and that is what ultimately drove him to it. He had previously trained and competed in wrestling at the age of 12, winning a national competition.

However, he moved his focus back on to rugby for the next few years, eventually turning back to martial arts and taking it seriously. Here we can see it took a while for Volkanovski to really realise what he wanted to do, but once he found his passion he put his all into it.

During his rugby days he weighed around 214 pounds. He started off his amateur MMA career at middleweight! Over the years he cut his weight down till he was able to compete in the featherweight division where he must weigh 145 pounds.

He shows us that when he visualised his dream, he took all the necessary steps to make it a reality.

He has said ‘I always prepare for the worst.’ Showing us that he is ready for all scenarios and possible outcomes. Sometimes things may not go your way, you must prepare yourself for this, especially mentally.

As these setbacks are learning curves which help us to become better. Volkanovski has inspired people with this journey showing us all when you really want to achieve a dream you can do it.

No matter how big of an ask it may be, if you continue to put the work in, you will get there. Never lose hope on accomplishing your goals, keep working!

Volkanovski has shown us he is LIMLTESS!

Volkanovski has proved to us already that he is LIMITLESS! Going from a bulked-up rugby player to a cut down featherweight is some achievement!

His transformation was something many people didn’t believe he could do, but he showed everyone that it was possible. He started off his career as an amateur as a middleweight!

Then once he started to cut the weight down, he made his mark as one of the best featherweights in the world.

Before the UFC, Volkanovski had already won belts in Australian promotions at multiple weights which were in the featherweight, lightweight and even welterweight divisions earlier on in his career!

He showed that he was definitely one of the best mixed martial artists in Australia. But he wanted to prove he wasn’t just the best in Australia, but the best in the world.

To do this he needed to be in the premier division where the best mixed martial artists across the world competed, the UFC. He was limitless on what he could achieve.

Going through numerous titles in Australia, his ultimate dream was to reach the pinnacle of mixed martial arts, which is of course becoming a UFC champion.

He was able to reach this dream through constant work and self-belief. As well as his achievements in mixed martial arts, Volkanovski was a successful rugby player!

In 2011, he played a major part in the 2011 season, which saw his team Warilla Gorillas win the league that season.

Volkanovski jokingly said ‘I’m like one of those little chihuahua’s that thinks they’re ten feet tall.’ Here he is expressing his belief in himself. He has huge confidence in his abilities and believes he can achieve whatever he puts his mind too.

He has already proven this with what he has been able to accomplish so far. You must always be limitless when striving towards your dreams to see what you are truly capable of!

Volkanovski finds his INNER-PEACE by…

Volkanovski has also been able to reach a state of INNER-PEACE. Outside of the UFC he likes to spend time with his family. He has stated ‘I pride myself on being a family man. I pride myself on being respectful and hardworking. That’s just me.’

Here we can see the core values that allow Volkanovski to reach his own inner-peace. Family is important to him, so when he competes in the UFC, he is providing for them, giving him that extra motivation.

He is also respectful to other people as he believes this is the right thing to do. Volkanovski has shown this when fighting too as he never really engages in trash talking before fights, letting his fighting skills do the talking.

He has also remained hard working throughout his life, which we will cover in more detail in the active section! His mother is from Greece, whilst his father is from Macedonia, so he also has his heritage in both countries.

He prides himself on representing both countries. His nickname ‘the great’ came from none other than the king Alexander the Great who also has Greek and Macedonian heritage!

Volkanovski has been able to identify what he values the most. To find your own inner peace you must find what you hold closest to your heart.

Volkanovski has realised the importance of TIME

Volkanovski has been able to learn the true essence of TIME throughout his life. He has had to show patience to get to where he is. As we know he didn’t go straight into an MMA career.

Volkanovski started off in rugby and was able to show some promising talent in the sport. But when he turned to MMA, it was a long road ahead of him to get to the UFC throne that he ultimately desired.

He made his professional debut in 2012. Competing in numerous weights such as welterweight, lightweight and featherweight. He would not reach his goal of becoming a UFC champion until 2019.

That was 9 years of nothing but hard work and determination for Volkanovski to reach the most prestigious title in MMA. He had his setbacks, losing his third professional fight, but he didn’t lose vision on his dream.

Volkanovski dusted himself of and got straight back to work. He hasn’t lost since then and that was at welterweight! Continuing to get into his peak fight shape, he was able to perform his best in the featherweight division in the UFC.

Volkanovski has told us ‘one thing in this game is you’ve gotta stay positive.’ Showing us that things may happen which may put you down.

But ultimately it is a small setback in a long journey for you to achieve your goals. You must always be patient. Some outcomes may not be in your favour, but if you continue to work, then those failures will turn into successes!

Volkanovski has always been ACTIVE

Volkanovski has been ACTIVE throughout his life. He realised the importance staying active had on achieving his dreams. His work ethic is something he prides himself on.

Always making sure that he puts the necessary work in, to make sure he performs at his best. When Volkanovski first started venturing into MMA, he first had some amateur fights to familiarise himself with the sport, helping him to see if this was his true dream.

Whilst doing this he was still training with his rugby team, regularly playing games. On top of this he also had a job as a cementer! So we can see the amount of work Volkanovski had to put in, to make sure he could make ends meet whilst pushing to fulfil his dream.

It was ultimately this work ethic that helped him realise what he wanted to do with his life. He has brought this work ethic into his MMA career, which has clearly been shown with his performances in the octagon.

Volkanovski has said ‘I like to stay active. I’m one of the champions chasing the contenders.’ Here we can see now that he is the champion, he has a new goal.

Volkanovski now wants to be considered one of the greatest featherweights of all time. To do this he must continue to stay active, making sure he is prepared when it comes to fighting other top contenders in the division.

Volkanovski shows us that from staying active, we are constantly making progress towards our ultimate dreams. You must continue to stay active throughout your day, don’t waste time as it is limited. Make the most of your time and strive towards your goals.

Volkanovski was RELENTLESS to get to the top and still is!

Volkanovski has showed that he is RELENTLESS when it comes to achieving his goals. He has displayed this on his journey to becoming the champion.

Though people doubted him and didn’t believe in him, he proved them wrong with his hard work and was determined to show the world what he is truly capable of.

Though Volkanovski had to overcome many adversities, they never deterred him from chasing his dreams. The adversities only made him stronger and hungrier to keep going.

Volkanovski has told us ‘If I want to be the GOAT, I’ve got to take out No. 1 contenders.’ We can clearly see the vision he now has for himself and what he wants to accomplish.

Now that Volkanovski has become the champion, he has achieved one of his dreams. But his ultimate dream and what he is now working towards, is to become the greatest featherweight of all time.

Chasing the greatest possible achievement you can accomplish in MMA. He knows that he must stay relentless to reach this incredible status and keep working.

You must stay relentless on your journey to your dreams. Keep working and over time, you will start to see your dreams turn into reality!

Alexander Volkanovski is one of the greatest mixed martial artists in the modern day era. He has proved that he is one of the best current featherweights.

He is now looking to cement himself in the history books as one of the greatest! We can all learn from what he has done to get to where he is now. Showing us that all is possible through self-belief and hard work.

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I have shown how Alexander Volkanovski has implemented Militar values throughout his life. Make sure you subscribe to our blog to find out how other people you look up to have! Next up is…