Corey Nelson, only fighter to defeat Alexander Volkanovski, recalls win over UFC featherweight champ – MMA Fighting

In retrospect, Corey Nelsons fight with future UFC champion Alexander Volkanovski is a David and Goliath story of sorts, only in this case, its the lesser known Nelson who is Goliath.
And Goliath won.
A mainstay on the Australian MMA scene, Nelson was the more proven commodity when he faced off with Volkanovski at an Australian FC event in Melbourne on May 10, 2013. Back then, Volkanovki was just getting his feet wet as a fighter, bringing a 3-0 record into his bout opposite Nelson (12-4 at the time). Still there was enough respect for Nelson and buzz around Volkanovski to net the two a co-main event spot.
By the way, this bout took place at 170 pounds, two weight classes above the division in which Volkanovski captured UFC gold six years later.
The fight came to an end 13 seconds into round three, with Nelson landing a flurry of strikes on Volkanovski before putting him down for good with a stiff uppercut (watch the finish here). It was the last time that Volkanovski failed to get his hand raised.
Despite the card having several names that have become synonymous with Australian and New Zealand MMA, including Dan Hooker, who headlined, and Volkanovski, as well as other notables like Jake Matthews, Dan Kelly, Luke Jumeau, and Vik Grujic, Nelson recalls the event still being relatively overlooked in his country even as it was a banner show for the hardcores.
To be honest, the mainstream wasnt hitting and it still really isnt in Australia, except for the guys like Robert Whittaker and Alex that have really put Australia MMA on the map, Nelson told MMA Fighting. The mainstream still isnt as big as it should be for them, and I feel sorry for them guys. Maybe they got to do something bad to get their heads in them papers and stuff.
But locally, everybody that was in the MMA community, it was huge. It was huge. Especially when I was fighting and Dan Hooker and at the time Rob was really making waves in the UFC, there was a lot of buzz around it.
Nelson wasnt sure what to make of the unbeaten Volkanovski, a fellow former rugby league player who had made the transition from one rough-and-tumble world to another. By this point in his career, Nelson had experience facing some of Australias best prospects. Hed lost to Whittaker as well as future UFC and Cage Warriors fighter Ben Alloway, but also established himself as a scrapper with a penchant for stand-up battles that opponents were wary to sign up for.
He admits that he felt confident matching up with the considerably shorter Volkanovski when initially sizing him up.
I looked at him and he was still coming up, and I hadnt heard much of him at all, Nelson said. I knew he was fighting at middleweight and he was beating some guys. I just thought, Short guy, hes not gonna have much of a chance.
But the thing about looking about people like that is you cant see how big their heart is. He had a massive heart and the drive and the will to win, and it showed in the fight too. It wasnt until the third round, thats when I got him out of the fight.
Today, Volkanovski is recognized as one of the most well-rounded fighters in the sport. Now sporting a sterling 21-1 record, The Great seeks a second win over Max Holloway this Saturday at UFC 251 after soundly outpointing Holloway in their first meeting.
When he faced Nelson, not only was Volkanovski undersized, he had holes in his game that Nelson could exploit.
The first couple of rounds were back-and-forth, he was giving as good as he was getting, Nelson said. But just the wrestling exchanges, I was a lot bigger and I had more leverage to win them little moments in the fight when he was trying to get me down, Id be able to switch and turn and really get on top of him and wear him down and break him towards the end of the fight.
Unsurprisingly, the two fights that Nelson is asked about most frequently are his win over Volkanovski and his loss to Whittaker. Nelson, 32, has shared cage time or been on the same card as almost every noteworthy fighter to come out of the Oceanic region over the past 11 years, and he gets excited when he sees them being elevated on a bigger stage.
Major has had his own brushes with the UFC and Bellator from 2011-2013, but an ongoing legal situation made it difficult for him to make any deals especially outside of Australia. According to Nelson he and a friend were involved in a street fight coming home from the pub, an incident for which he takes full responsibility.
After I fought Rob, thats when The Ultimate Fighter came to Australia, Nelson said. We both got picked for the house, but because I was going through the courtsI got into a fight on the streetsthat stopped me from getting into the house. So I had two opportunities to fight in The Ultimate Fighter, Australia vs. England and Australia vs. Canada

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