UFC champ Alex Volkanovski parties in Las Vegas with Shaquille O’Neal after stunning win over Yair Rodriguez… with the Aussie getting a huge boost from Dana White: ‘He’s proven himself a million times over’
- Alex Volkanovski parties with Shaquille O’Neal
- Dana White grants Aussie a special privilege
- Volkanovski defended the UFC title for the fifth time
After securing a fifth defense of his featherweight title against Yair Rodriguez in Las Vegas, UFC champion Alex Volkanovski has been spotted with Shaquille O’Neal and Jamal Murray.
Volkanovski re-established himself as the featherweight champion with a dominant TKO victory over Rodriguez at 4:19 of the third round at UFC 290.
The win was the Aussie’s 11th in a row at 145 pounds and stakes his claim as the best pound-for-pound fighter in the world.
Aussie UFC star Alex Volkanovski has secured a fifth defense of his featherweight title
His performance against Rodriguez was so impressive that UFC boss Dana White has given Volkanovski the green light to decide his next move.
“People looked great,” White said.
“He’s an absolute freak.
“He’s at one of those moments in his career right now where he, whatever he wants to do, what are we going to say?
He’s already proven himself a million times over. So whatever he wants to do, we’ll go with it, yes.’
Following the win, Volkanovski and his team celebrated in Vegas with NBA Hall-of-Famer Shaquille O’Neal and 2023 NBA champion Jamal Murray.
In a music video posted to Instagram, “The Great” can be seen partying alongside the couple, with O’Neal DJ playing in the background to a cheering crowd.
O’Neal, 51, has long had an interest in musical pursuits and calls himself DJ Diesel when he plays tracks.
NBA legend Shaquille O’Neal has long had an interest in musical pursuits and calls himself DJ Diesel when he plays tracks
After the UFC event, the Aussie superstar revealed he had come into the fight with a serious arm injury that now requires surgery
The unexpected video surprised many fans and they took to social media to comment.
“Dude’s life is a movie,” one Twitter user wrote
“Looks like Shaq took his kid to work,” another joked.
After the fight, Volkanovski revealed that he had performed with a serious arm injury that required surgery.
“I’ll be very honest with you, I need to have minor surgery on my arm,” he said.
“Going through camp was a bit of a struggle, but I would always show up here and do my thing.
“I’m going to have that surgery as soon as I get home and I’ll be back home. I’ll make sure to keep fit while I recover and I’ll be back here soon. I want that lightweight belt(s) I’m still coming for it.”
The Wollongong native came into the match after his first loss in more than 20 professional fights, as he moved up to lightweight to face champion Islam Makhachev, losing by a razor-thin decision.
It will not surprise anyone if Volkanovski seeks revenge with Makhachev before the end of the year.
Volkanovski will likely be moving back to lightweight for a shot at double champion status
“We all know I want that lightweight belt,” Volkanovski said at the post-fight press conference.
“We all know I want that rematch. I want that Islam fight. I think it’s not just for me to get that belt, to get that win back, but I think it’s also a huge fight for the UFC.
“I think it’s a fight everyone wants to see. It was literally that kind of fight. It was so close. It was a smashing fight. Everyone enjoyed it. I was very, very high level. It was [No. 1 and No. 2 pound-for-pound] go against it. We showed, that’s really it.
He lived up to the hype. I lived up to the hype and that fight lived up to the hype. We just need to see [rounds] 5 to 10.”