Alexander Volkanovski has completed an incredible body transformation in order to successfully weigh in for his short notice rematch with Islam Makhachev.

The plucky Australian accepted a rematch with Islam Makhachev on 11 days notice after Charles Oliveira was forced to pull out with a cut suffered in sparring.

Volkanovski weighed 181lbs when he got the call to step in, 26lbs (1.85st) above the lightweight limit.

Fans had been concerned that the featherweight champion may struggle to make the weight but he seemed to have no problems as he stepped on to the scales at 154.4lbs in Abu Dhabi on Friday morning.

His dietician took to Instagram after the official weigh-in, sharing a before and after picture that showed the true extent of the transformation.

'11 days to drop 26.5lbs (12kg),' he wrote alongside the images. 'First on the scales.

'It takes a special type of individual to take on that physical and mental challenge but there’s a reason @alexvolkanovski is best in the world at this.

'You can’t pull something like this off unless you are on top of your training and nutrition year round. There was some easy post holiday pounds that came off fast initially but there was still a lot of work to be done.'

At one point in time, the Australian was a squat young prop in rugby league, weighing in at almost 100kg before turning his attention to MMA.

The 5ft 6in dynamo started competing at welterweight before gradually slimming down to lightweight and then featherweight, where he has thrived in the UFC.

He's won 13 of his 14 fights inside the organisation, his only defeat coming via decision to Saturday's opponent Makhachev earlier this year.