"You paid him to do this," "Damn another L for my goat" - Fans react to Alexander Volkanovski visit to Manchester City's Etihad Stadium

A recent collaboration between Alexander Volkanovski and football/soccer giants Manchester City has not been well-received by fans. The club took to X/Twitter to post a picture of the former UFC featherweight champion wearing a Manchester City jersey while posing at the entrance of the club's Etihad Stadium.

Despite the smile that Volkanovski flashed in the picture, his appearance at the stadium was mocked by fans who flocked to form a thread under the tweet. While some comments were indeed positive, many took the opportunity to take a swipe at Manchester City, a polarizing club, to say the least.

One fan scoffed at the notion that Volkanovski is an actual Manchester City supporter, claiming that he was paid to make an appearance at the stadium.

"You paid him to do this. We aren't moved"

Another fan poked fun at 'The Great's' recent calls for a rematch with Ilia Topuria, who knocked him out at UFC 298 to capture featherweight gold.

"I've seen enough, he beats Topuria in the rematch"

Others claimed that the post turned them into fans of Islam Makhachev and 'El Matador,' both of whom knocked the Australian star out.

"Suddenly I'm a huge Makhachev and Topuria fan"

Some fans even regarded the post as a loss.

"Damn another L for my goat"

A collage of fan reactions can be seen below:

Fan reactions to Alexander Volkanovski's appearance at the Etihad Stadium

Volkanovski is currently in Manchester, where UFC 304 is set to take place. Given his newfound interest in possibly pursuing a welterweight fight, 'The Great' will have his eye on the UFC 304 main event.

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Alexander Volkanovski has a history with team sports

Team sports are nothing for Alexander Volkanovski, who wasn't always an uber-skilled mixed martial artist. Years ago, 'The Great' was a semi-professional rugby player, who competed in Group 7 Rugby League and played for the Warilla Gorillas, winning the Mick Cronin Medal in 2010 denoting the league's best player.

Check out Alexander Volkanovski playing rugby:

Fortunately, the future UFC featherweight great didn't stick around in the team sports world for too long. He eventually took up MMA at 22 years old, first training to maintain his physical fitness during his rugby off-season. However, Volkanovski fell in love with the sport and the rest is history.