Alex Volkanovski fights Facebook’s Mark Zuckerberg ahead of bout against Islam Makhachev at UFC 284

It takes a brave man to step into the Octagon with Australian UFC champion Alex Volkanovski, but what about the Metaverse?

Volkanovski will step up a weight division to face lightweight champion Islam Makhachev at UFC 284 in Perth this Sunday and has been no friends with the bookies, going nearly 4-1.

Maybe that’s why Facebook Founder Mark Zuckerberg had the crazy idea to challenge the world featherweight champion from Wollongong in an MMA fight.

However, this was no ordinary fight.

Zuckerberg invited Volkanovski to train with him in Metaverse, the virtual reality world that the Facebook boss hopes will become the next frontier of social media.

The pair were connected with motion capture suits and their avatars faced each other in a virtual arena.

Zuckerberg showed he’s got some MMA moves with Volkanovski declaring, “nice counter too, how good was that counter?”

The fight ended quickly with the Australian taking down the Facebook guru, with Zuckerberg saying: ‘go get that second belt’.

Volkanovski conducts an open training session for fans and media during the UFC 284 open workouts at Elizabeth Quay

Islam Makhachev of Russia poses for a portrait with Hasbulla Magomedov after winning the UFC lightweight championship during the UFC 280 event at Etihad Arena

Zuckerberg is a longtime fan and supporter of the UFC and Volkanovski counts him among his friends.

“Yes, he is a partner,” Volkanovski said in October.

“I knew long before he made his appearance in the UFC that he is a huge fan. He loves sports.

I consider him my partner. Again, he’s a great guy, we hit it off. In fact, I’ll catch up with him a bit later in the year. But yeah, cool dude. He knows what he’s doing, he knows the UFC and everything about it.’

Makhachev is shaping up to be the biggest challenge of Volkanovski’s career, making the move from featherweight to lightweight to take on the Russian with records of 23-1 in MMA and 12-1 in the UFC.

A UFC fan gets more than he bargained for during an open training session in Perth ahead of UFC 284

Volkanovski receives a gift from members of Boorloo Aboriginal Cultural Experiences during the UFC 284 welcome to the country ceremony

While Volkanovski is the No. 1 ranked pound-for-pound, he has no friends in the bookies for this fight, even with the event taking place in his home country, and he’s sitting at $3.75.

To some, those would be considered outrageous odds.

“Or a good bet,” Volkanovski told Fox Sports.

‘Because, yes, I have a big challenge in front of me.

‘But I’m also that guy.

“I’m the fighter with the durability, the ticker, the ability to work on a game plan… I’m the fighter who has what it takes for an underdog win.”

‘Then how can you not put money into it?’

Volkanovski poses for a photo with his team during the UFC 284 open workouts at Elizabeth Quay ahead of his lightweight fight against Islam Makhachev

Volkanovski also spoke about a fan who used to send him $20,000 TAB receipts early in his career, proving he was rooting for the underdog time and time again.

Finally, the fan said that he was able to pay for his house with Volkanovski’s earnings.

“And I still remember that guy coming up to me and saying ‘hey, I paid my house off betting on you,'” Volkanovski said.

‘So maybe people have forgotten what brought me here.

“I know this week there are a lot of people saying ‘oh look what Islam has done to all these other guys he fought against’.”

‘But who cares what he’s done?

I am of a completely different breed.

I have already told you. And I have tried it.