Volkanovski details 'nasty' battle with COVID-19: 'It rocked me'

The coronavirus put UFC featherweight champion Alexander Volkanovski through the wringer.

Volkanovski tested positive for COVID-19 in March after arriving in Las Vegas for a scheduled bout against Brian Ortega, which was canceled a week before the event.

On Monday, the Australian publicly discussed his battle with the virus for the first time.

"It rocked me," Volkanovski told ESPN's Ariel Helwani. "I was in bed for days, sleeping in until 12 o'clock in the day and just not doing nothing, not eating all day. It got pretty nasty."

Volkanovski said he experienced a few headaches before finding out about his positive test. After he knew he had COVID-19, his symptoms got worse and included severe headaches, fever, and body aches.

"But then it started getting a little more serious," Volkanovski said. "We started realizing my lungs had started hurting a little bit. Maybe this happens a fair bit, but I'm like, 'Alright, it's starting hurting to breathe.' We started paying attention to everything when my phlegm started coming up pinky, with little specks of blood."

Volkanovski said he went for a checkup at a hospital in Las Vegas a few days after testing positive, and it was determined he had COVID-19 pneumonia.

"We did a scan and we could see the infection was in the lungs," Volkanovski said. "But it was still a mild case at the time."

Volkanovski said the typical COVID-19 symptoms began to go away over the next few days but his lungs hurt more. His oxygen levels also went down significantly and he was coughing up more blood than before.

"The blood just got worse and worse," Volkanovski said. "I ended up coughing up a bit of blood - it was obviously pinky mucus, and then blood, and it was pretty consistent."

The 32-year-old went back to the hospital three days after his first visit, stayed for a few days, and was put on anti-inflammatory medication.

"The doctors ended up doing another scan, and we found out the infection got worse," Volkanovski said. "It spread even more through the lungs."

Volkanovski said the medication helped a lot, as he's no longer positive for COVID-19 and not experiencing any symptoms. He added that the severity of his case was "a bit of a shock" because of how healthy and fit he is.

"Right now, obviously I'm much better," Volkanovski said. "I'm even able to train a little bit now."