UFC featherweight world champion Alexander Volkanovski recently took on NBA star Jamal Murray in a friendly BJJ session, sharing some of his skills and knowledge with his fellow athlete. Volkanovski is one of the greatest MMA fighters around right now and has had a fantastic run as a champion since 2019, with him not showing any signs of giving up the belt soon. With an impressive fine title-defenses since then, he’s put himself within touching distance of the records set by Jose Aldo back in the first few years that the division existed.
Murray has been an NBA player since 2016 and has always played for the Denver Nuggets, a team that coincidentally has also shown an interest in BJJ in their team training sessions. While Volkanovski has been a champion of his sport for several years now, Murray has recently managed to join him by becoming a champion in his own sport as well. He was an integral part of the Denver Nuggets lineup during the 2023 season, when the team managed to win the NBA championship.
At 6ft 4 and around 215lbs, Murray is a force to be reckoned with even without any kind of formal training in either wrestling or BJJ. Thanks to his decades of experience on the courts and his current role as an NBA star he has some fantastic athletic abilities and like many of the other competitors in his sport, he could be a fantastic grappler with enough training. Although the BJJ skill difference between Jamal Murray and Alexander Volkanovski is clear as soon as the two get to work on the mats, it’s still not easy for someone of Volkanovski’s size to overcome the size advantages that Murray has.
Alexander Volkanovski uploaded the footage of him sparring in a BJJ session with NBA star Jamal Murray to his official YouTube channel:
