Aussie UFC champ Alex Volkanovski will be out for 12 WEEKS as he posts shocking pic of broken thumb

UFC world featherweight champion Alex Volkanovski will be knocked out of the cage for 12 weeks after he confirmed that he broke his thumb early in his win over Max Holloway on July 3. 

The Aussie, who suffered his last professional loss in 2013, posted a shocking X-ray of his left thumb on Friday after snapping it while stamping himself as possibly the best pound-for-pound fighter in the UFC with his victory in Las Vegas last Sunday.

The scan posted by the 33-year-old on Twitter showed the base of his thumb had separated from the rest of his hand, with a chip of bone visibly ripped away. 

Alex Volkanovski posted an x-ray scan on his broken left thumb to Twitter, the image confirmed the champion will be sidelined for 12 weeks

‘Broke my thumb in the second round, but that don’t stop us! Having surgery today and will be out for 12 weeks. Looking forward to getting back out there, thanks to everyone for the support,’ Volkanovski wrote on Twitter.  

The 25-1 fighter controlled all five rounds in the UFC 276 clash, smashing his American opponent with plenty of hard jabs to the face in the Las Vegas showdown.

‘I broke it in the second round,’ the champion said.

‘It made the wrestling a bit harder, but I was still able to jab with it. It didn’t stop me from doing what I wanted. Even though that hurt, it was all worth it.’ 

Alex ‘the great’ punches Max Holloway with his left in UFC 276 – the Australian won the bout by a unanimous points decision

Before the fight, the Australian perfectly depicted how he would injure the world no.2 featherweight, sketching a hilarious image with black marker that showed Holloway with a bloodied left eye and cut face – all of which came to fruition. 

Volkanovski landed 76 percent of his significant strikes to Holloway’s head, an onslaught of shots that left the 30-year-old Hawaiian in hospital after the fight.

‘He’s got a weird-shaped head, sorry,’ Volkanovski said in the sketch video.

Volkanovski celebrates his UFC 276 win with arms hoisted after lasting the five round distance against Max Holloway 

The Aussie says he wants to hold a headline fight on home soil, and the ideal way for him to do that would be to get a crack at his ambition of holding belts in two weight divisions at the same time. 

The NSW south coast local recently revealed he was drug tested while he tried to sleep on the night before his second fight with Holloway.

He had to consume a large amount of water to fill the testing cup, which interfered with his preparation and sleep pattern so much that he had to take melatonin tablets. 

Holloway was rushed to hospital after the judges verdict, as he required treatment on his badly cut left eye 

‘Woke up, still in a sleep cycle and now when you watch that fight, it probably makes a bit of sense,’ he said.

‘I had no reaction, no pace, everything was forced, I had to force everything. I had to use my head, I had to force things to happen, but that is the type of guy I am.’

Alex ‘the great’ is the second ranked pound for pound men’s UFC star behind New Zealand star Israel Adesanya.

The 66kg hard hitter has earned the opportunity to pursue the lightweight belt, with reports he could face off for the strap as early as February next year.