Alexander Volkanovski is one of the UFC's most dominant featherweights, and he just submitted a 365-pound NFL Super Bowl winner. Nicknamed The Great, the 5-foot-6 two-time UFC featherweight champion built his mixed martial arts career on suffocating wrestling and relentless volume striking despite constantly fighting bigger opponents. In a viral 2026 video, Volkanovski squared off against fellow Australian Jordan Mailata, the 6-foot-8 Philadelphia Eagles offensive lineman and Super Bowl champion, first trading shots on a punching machine before taking body blows and finally locking in a guillotine choke that forced the massive lineman to tap despite a 220-pound size disadvantage. Known for ferocious leverage and technical precision, Volkanovski's viral crossover proved that size means little in real grappling exchanges.
A viral video circulating online this week shows UFC featherweight champion Alexander Volkanovski submitting Philadelphia Eagles offensive lineman Jordan Mailata, a moment that quickly captured the attention of combat sports and NFL fans alike.
Volkanovski, nicknamed The Great, is no stranger to overcoming size disadvantages. The 37-year-old Australian stands just five-foot-six with a 71-inch reach, yet has built one of the UFC's most decorated featherweight careers on relentless output and suffocating wrestling. Currently ranked third pound-for-pound in the world and holding a professional record of 28 wins and 4 losses, he lands nearly six significant strikes per minute at a 57 percent accuracy rate — numbers that reflect his ability to overwhelm opponents with volume and precision. Although primarily known as a striker and wrestler, the video served as a reminder that his submission toolkit is equally dangerous.
His opponent in the clip, Jordan Mailata, is about as far from a trained fighter as it gets on paper. The six-foot-eight Eagles offensive lineman weighs in at 365 pounds and owns a Super Bowl championship ring, but grappling credentials are not part of his resume. The two fellow Australians first traded shots on a punching machine and exchanged body blows before Volkanovski closed the distance and locked in a guillotine choke, leaving Mailata no option but to tap despite holding a roughly 220-pound size advantage.
Why it matters
- The clip underscores how technical grappling negates raw size in a way that casual sports fans rarely see demonstrated so dramatically.
- Volkanovski's crossover appeal — a pound-for-pound elite engaging NFL culture — raises his mainstream profile at a moment when combat sports and team sports are increasingly intersecting.
- For a champion who has spent his career fighting bigger opponents inside the octagon, the submission of a 365-pound lineman doubled as a fitting piece of personal brand storytelling.
