UFC champion Alexander Volkanovski met Shaquille O’Neal in a fun strange bedfellows moment last week.

Within their respective fields, Alexander Volkanovski and Shaquille O’Neal have both achieved some great things. The latter is a four-time NBA champion, has one of the biggest personalities in the history of the sport and is viewed as one of the greatest centers of all-time.

On the flip side, Volkanovski is currently listed as the pound-for-pound best fighter in the UFC rankings and stands tall as the undisputed featherweight champion.

The star power of both differs due to the popularity of their respective sports but if Volkanovski continues down his current path, there’s every chance he’ll be making some real waves in the GOAT conversation in the years ahead.

Shaq, meanwhile, still very much has his finger on the pulse as an analyst - despite retiring over a decade ago.

The obvious elephant in the room here is that O’Neal stands at a whopping 7 foot 1 inch tall, whereas Volkanovski is reportedly 5 foot 6 inches.

We all know that size isn’t everything but visually speaking, it was always going to be interesting to see them stand next to one another - and now, they’ve made it happen.

The pair seemed to have a lot of fun with Volkanovski continuing to prove the doubters wrong as one of the most talented champions in the sport.

One step beyond

Taking on new challenges is what Alexander Volkanovski is all about. ‘The Great’ recently dispatched Max Holloway in their highly-anticipated trilogy fight and after managing to put an end to their rivalry, he’s ready to move on to something new.

The two leading contenders for a crack at the gold are Josh Emmett and Yair Rodriguez with some rumours suggesting an interim title bout could be booked between them before the end of the year.

If that goes down, it could leave Volkanovski open to move up and challenge for the lightweight crown - or he may sit on the shelf and continue his recovery from a broken hand.

As for Shaq, we’re just happy to still see him on our TV screens.