2 Weeks After Sparring Session Billionaire Friend Sends Heartwarming Message To Alexander Volkanovski Ahead of UFC 294

Alexander Volkanovski is aiming to add his name to an elite list in the UFC at UFC 294. In the three decades of the UFC’s existence there have only been four simultaneous two-division world champions. Volkanovski is aiming to put his name alongside Connor McGregor, Daniel Cormier, Henry Cejudo and Amanda Nunes. Ahead of one of the biggest fights of his career, Volkanovski received a special message from his friend and billionaire businessman, Mark Zuckerberg. Volkanovski along with Israel Adesanya had sparring session with the CEO of Meta just two weeks prior to the fight being announced. The video of the interview was uploaded on YouTube channel Nina Drama.

Islam Makhachev is unbeaten in his last 12-fights and has rarely been tested. However, it was Alexander Volkanovski who pushed him the furthest when the two met at UFC 284 last year. Therefore, many fans as well as pundits believe that ‘Volk’ can get the job done even if it is on 12 days notice based on how the last fight went. 

Alexander Volkanovski receives a message of support from Mark Zuckerberg

‘The Great’ recently sat down for an interview with fan favourite Nina Drama. While asking questions to the 35-year-old, Drama took time to share a special message sent in by Mark Zuckerberg for Volkanovski. In the message Zuckerberg urged ‘The Great’ to cemented his place as one of the greatest of all time. He also went on to wish him luck. In the video the 39-year-old said, 

“Hey Volk, I am really excited for your fight this weekend. Your last one was already one of the best fights of the year. And this time, I am looking forward to seeing you go out and there and cement your status as one of the greatest of all time. Alright, good luck and have fun out there man.” (4:17 to 4:32)

The message caught the featherweight champion by surprise. He went on to explain how both him and Zuckeberg have remained in touch since their sparring session. ‘The Great’ replied to the video saying, 

“How good was that? Not everyday that you get a shout from Mark Zuckerberg eh? We keep in touch anyway. He has been good, but that is cool. We’re usually doing voice messages or messaging but to see him actually saying it is cool.” (4:32 to 4:50)

Volkanovski’s friendship with the billionaire was evident when a picture of sparring sessions was posted by Israel Adesanya involving the three of them.

Mark Zukcerberg an MMA fanatic 

For a while now, Facebook founder and CEO, Mark Zuckerberg has been extremely into MMA. The 39-year-old practices MMA daily and has even taken part in and won Jiu-Jitsu tournaments as well. Zuckerberg has also attended UFC events at the Apex and is friends with UFC president Dana White. He was also in talks to fight Elon Musk in an MMA fight earlier this year. Unfortunately, that did not come to fruition. 

In a recent video posted on Israel Adesanya’s YouTube page, both Adesanya and Volkanovski met up with Zuckerberg at his lake house. Both champions then sparred with Zuckerberg and imparted their wisdom with a man who is extremely infatuated by the sport.

However, Zuckerberg taking the time out to send a personal message to Volkanovski shows his love for the Australian champion as well as the sport in general. It will definitely be a night for the history books if ‘Volk’ can beat Makhachev to become the 5th simultaneous UFC champion.