October 26, 2026 — 5:16pm

Michael Jordan was violently ill before game five of the 1997 NBA finals, but somehow played through severe discomfort to score 38 points and give the Chicago Bulls a 3-2 lead over the Utah Jazz, setting them up to win the series in their next game.

Nearly 30 years later, it’s still talked about. The ‘Flu Game’ was one of Jordan’s most memorable performances, and a core moment in his own sporting mythology – even though, as it turned out, he actually had food poisoning, not the flu.

Alexander Volkanovski has just produced his own version, one that might soon be looked back upon the same way.

Days out from his UFC featherweight title defence against previously undefeated Russian contender Movsar Evloev, Volkanovski was feeling rough. His breathing was heavy, to the point where he was genuinely worried he might not last five rounds.…