Israel Adesanya's coach says Alexander Volkanovski is 'the best pound-for-pound fighter in the world'

Israel Adesanya‘s coach Eugene Bareman believes Alexander Volkanovski is ‘the best pound-for-pound fighter in the world.’

Volkanovski, 33, kept apace of Kamaru Usman as the UFC featherweight champion picked up a lopsided decided win at UFC 276.

Training alongside fellow UFC champion Adesanya for his training camp, Volkanovski stuck to his gameplan over five rounds while peppering Max Holloway with a long stinging jab again and again to ultimately pitch a shutout on the scorecards.

The Australian MMA fighter is 25-1, and has held the 145lb belt since 2019.

And Bareman believes that – after arguably putting in the best performance of his career to date – Volkanovski is the top pound-for-pound fighter in the sport right now.

“Oh man, I’m lost for words, man,” he told Submission Radio.

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“Like, it’s just… the team, me, Joe, Alex, the coaches, we talked about a masterclass, about just cementing, solidifying every round and just being convincing.

“S***, I didn’t know he’d be that convincing. I didn’t know that. As much as I’ve gotten to know Alex over the years, the guy could still have a performance like that and still leave me gob-smacked.

“I’m like, wow. Just when you think he’s good and he’s at his best, he finds another level. And just, what a masterclass.

“Like, respectfully, if that’s not the best pound-for-pound fighter in the world, then I don’t know who is.

“He’s the best on the planet.

“He was the best after the first fight with Max. Max was the best, and then we beat him. And then people still didn’t – there was still some doubters.

“And then the second fight was close, but we still won. And then there was still some doubters. I was