Alexander Volkanovski walked into Las Vegas’ New York New York casino early on Tuesday afternoon sporting a small, plaster strip under his right eye.

Or as the UFC champ dubbed it, “my Nelly look”.

But worry?

“Nah, absolutely no problem,” Volk insisted of the band aid’s existence when asked by Fox Sports Australia, shortly after attending the UFC fighter check-ins.

Better, he then went on to explain how the small, beige strip — which, somewhat ironically, was placed in almost exactly the same spot as that now famed signature of American rapper Nelly — was simply the result of an innocuous training accident.

“Just a little scratch,” Volkanovski stressed.

“A grappling scratch.”

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And given the Sydneysider once battered no less than Max Holloway with a broken hand, just as he also recovered from almost having a leg amputated after besting Jose Aldo, and toughed through a bout of COVID so bad he was coughing blood … well, we reckon he might be OK.

But know, four days out from a title fight, such things raise eyebrows.

Cause concern, too.

For while there is no chance of his UFC 290 headliner being cancelled, there is also no bloke more capable of attacking a cut — perceived, real, whatever — than the unpredictable Mexican striker he opposes at T-Mobile Arena this Sunday.

Know too, this is how things now go for Volkanovski.

When even little things happen to him, or around him, people notice.

Indeed, this is how it goes now for Alexander The Great.

When even little things happen to him, or even around him, people notice.

Especially this week, too.

With Australia’s UFC featherweight king – and arguably the greatest fighter anywhere on planet earth, right now – looking to go out and defend for a fifth time at UFC 290 against Mexican livewire Yair Rodriguez.

Should Volk get the win, he will not only further his push for the greatest UFC featherweight of all time – or greatest fighter right now, period – but almost certainly catapult himself into another ‘champ champ’ shot against UFC lightweight king Islam Makhachev.

All of which makes Volk such a star here at International Fight Week in Las Vegas, his image adorns billboards, advertising trucks, even the most current front cover of the monthly Las Vegas tourist guide.

And given said magazine is placed on the bedside of every hotel room in the city, and the MGM Grand alone has upwards of 6,800 rooms … well, that’s a bloody lot publicity for an old concreter.

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Same as last Saturday when he arrived in the world’s fight capital early, and attended a Fight Night event at the UFC Apex, Volk spent time chatting with no less than Hollywood icon Mel Gibson.

Sat cageside as a guest of UFC president Dana White, Gibson has also been a regular at several of Volkanovski’s recent appearances in the US – including his dramatic choke escapes against Brian Ortega.

So what was said by the man famed for classics like Mad Max, Lethal Weapon, and Braveheart?

“He’s a fan,” Volk shrugged. “Just said how he enjoyed my other fights, especially the Ortega one.

“Which is really cool.

“I’ve actually looked back at that fight and to see him there, hyped up for the fight … (laughs) Braveheart sitting there watching me do Bravehart s….

“And I’m a fan of so many of his movies too, especially that one.

“It’s epic.”

Later, the champ continued of their conversation: “He was saying how he loves people who have not so much perfected their craft, but are excellent at what they do.

“Saying (the Ortega fight) looked like art out there.

“He was speaking about excellence at any cost.”

Elsewhere, it was noticeable when his team ventured out on Monday to visit the famed Las Vegas sign for a promotional shoot, and then played a round of golf the following afternoon, that the champ is increasingly getting big attention wherever he goes.

Asked about his growing celebrity, the affable father-of-two, who has never sought limelight or been changed by those 1.3 million Instagram followers, conceded: “It’s a lot different now and there’s a reason for that.

“The hype where I’m at in my career, it’s obviously going up and up.

“But I’m OK with it, too.”

So the secret?

“Wearing a hat helps,” he grinned.

“I think it’s the bald head that sticks out a lot.

“People see that and are like ‘oh, hey …’

“So I find when I wear a hat things are completely different. People just see another short fella walking past.”

Elsewhere, Volkanovski revealed his weight is also this week right on track for his move back to featherweight, having taken on Makhachev a division higher last start at UFC 284 in Perth.

“It’s good that the weight is back down,” the champ said.

“Doing the camp for lightweight, I could definitely feel the weight going through.

“So it was hard.

“Especially with the workload we do.

“It wasn’t until the last few weeks that I started to feel good.

“But moving around at this weight again, feels good.

“And the International Fight Weeks are always great cards with a lot of buzz around them.

“It’s always a big week, big card and to be headlining is incredible.

“Especially given we’ve got so many Aussies and Kiwis.

“That shows you what we’re doing back home, the support we’re getting … half this card is filled with Aussies and Kiwis because that’s how big the market is back home.”