Volk’s footy clash with seven-foot ‘Shrek’… and why he ‘could have had a crack at NRL’

Alexander Volkanovski had a problem.

The bloke he was fighting was so big, he had to jump to land a punch.

This was long before UFC championships, sold-out arenas and debates about where the Wollongong fighter belongs among Australia’s sporting greats.

UFC 333: Volkanovski v Evloev | SUN 25 OCTOBER 5AM AEDT | The UFC returns to Abu Dhabi where Volkanovski is seeking his 7th successful title defense in a highly anticipated match up against the undefeated Movsar Evloev. | Order now on Kayo Sports.

Back then, Volk was a 5 foot six (168cm) front-rower for the Warilla Gorillas.

And the bloke opposite him?

Shrek.

“He was seven feet tall and massive,” former teammate and schoolmate Ngatai Hetet recalled to Fox Sports Australia.

Taller than Brock Lesnar. And taller than Francis Ngannou.

And here was the smallest front-rower in the comp having a go.

“Alex had to jump to throw punches,” Hetet said.

“Shrek, the biggest player in the whole comp, and Alex were going at it.

“Alex always held his own and would stand up for himself.”

Hetet says that his mate never cared how big the other bloke was. And would always stick up for himself or his mates.

And as Volk prepares to defend his UFC featherweight crown against Movsar Evloev at UFC 333, Hetet sees the same qualities that carried him through those long afternoons in bush footy.

The ticker. The work ethic.

“If you’re a young athlete and you need a role model – he’s the guy to look up to,” Hetet said.

“He has good values and morals.”

Hetet met Volk at high school, with their friendship growing through a tight group of mates and seasons together at Warilla.

They played under-18s, reserve grade and first grade. Won a competition together, too.

And if you have watched the footage of a young Volk charging away to score in a grand final, Hetet would like a small mention.

“If you’ve seen a video of him scoring a try in a final – I passed the footy to him,” he said.

“It’s his last game in the grand final when he ran like 50 metres to score. It was crazy.”

Volk was good enough to win the Mick Cronin Medal as the competition’s best player.

Good enough, Hetet believed, to chase something bigger in rugby league.

“When I heard he was going to try to get into the UFC I thought he should instead try and get into the NRL, he was that good,” he said.

“He was a weapon of a player. With his build he shouldn’t be a front rower but he held his own.

“He used to pump a lot of massive players.”

Yet the memory Hetet reaches for to explain his mate’s character involves more than a big tackle or runaway try.

It involves Volk backing up.

Again and again.

“Back in the day the Warilla Gorillas were struggling, so Alex would play three games in one day,” he explained.

“Under-18s. Then back up and play reserve grade. And then back up and play first grade. All in one day.

“Taking the hit-ups off the tap in first grade and he’s already played two games.

“That’s the man he is.”

Hetet remembers the same willingness to work on concreting jobs alongside Volkanovski and his family.

There were bills to pay and no guarantee fighting would ever cover them.

“He comes from a working background. Concreting. I’ve done it with him and his family,” Hetet said.

“Just hard workers. Everyone down here is blue collar and works hard.

“He always had good values. He’s humble and he’s never changed. Alex has always been Alex. No ego.”

There was, however, a time when his mates suggested a different approach.

With Conor McGregor turning trash talk into a sporting empire, they wondered whether the nice bloke from Warilla needed to make more noise.

“Before he became champ all us boys used to get together and say you know you’ve gotta talk s**t, stop being the nice guy,” Hetet said.

“This is the Conor McGregor era.”

Volkanovski’s response was that it simply wasn’t him.

He would do it his own way.

“He always did it. Never fake. Just authentic. Just Alex,” Hetet said.

“That’s why everyone loves and respects him. Even the haters ended up loving him.”

MORE UFC NEWS:

‘Did not care one bit’: Volk’s bombshell admission… as rival pokes fun at Street Fighter cameo

‘I’m a huge Volk fan, but…’: Big fear emerges as UFC superstars reveal their title predictions

For Hetet, being humble never meant being easily pushed around.

He remembers a shorter teenager standing up to older kids who tried to bully him. A footballer who never went looking for trouble, but wouldn’t retreat when it arrived.

“He always had ticker – a good heart,” he said.

That belief extends to Evloev, whose wrestling presents the next test of Volk’s unbelievable championship reign.

“He used to wrestle guys that are 100 kilos on the footy field,” Hetet said.

“He’s just as strong now.

“If you take him down, it’d be hard to keep him down. Islam struggled to do it.

“I’ve got no doubt he’d be right [against Evloev]. He’ll be sweet.”

Winning would add to his already extraordinary legacy.

But Hetet says his mate is still the same bloke he knew before the titles.

“He’s always been the same, same now to when he was a teenager,” he said.

“Always just himself, just Alex.”