Athletes
Ciryl Gane Has Been Here Before
Heavyweight Ciryl Gane Returns To The Octagon For the First Time In Over A Year To Face A Former Opponent
Ciryl Gane wasn’t surprised that Alexander Volkov left Saudi Arabia with his hand raised after a dominant performance over Sergei Pavlovich. There was a lot of talk about Pavlovich’s skillset and spot in the heavyweight rankings, but Gane knew that Volkov brought a different type of energy to that fight, which made him the better man that night.
“The people were surprised about the striking because people talk about how Pavlovich is the next one because of his striking, because he's really powerful and really dangerous, but I knew Volkov was going to do that,” Gane said. “He can touch and never get touched, he lands a lot, it was not new for me.”
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Gane is knowledgeable about Volkov’s skill set because the two faced each other in a main event back in 2021. At that time, Gane was less than two years into his career and undefeated in his professional career. He earned a dominant unanimous decision win over Volkov and now the two get to run it back at UFC 310 in Las Vegas this weekend.
The two heavyweights have both had a handful of fights since they faced each other in the APEX, including Gane’s three fights for UFC gold against Derrick Lewis, Francis Ngannou and Jon Jones. Since “Drago” first faced “Bon Gamin,” he has only lost one fight and that was to interim heavyweight champion Tom Aspinall. He comes into the fight on a four-fight win streak. Both athletes know they’ve improved since that fight back in 2021, but, for Gane, that isn’t even the biggest difference heading into this fight.
“The biggest difference will be not from the fighter, but that it will be three rounds this time, with the cage also being bigger than the last time,” Gane said. “We improve, of course, but what I saw on his last fight against Pavlovich, I knew already he was a great striker. That's not new. In the first fight, he was already a really great striker, so we are going to expect that this time.”
The heavyweight division has been the talk of many fans lately, as champion Jones defeated Stipe Miocic last month, and now has Aspinall waiting in the wings to unify the title. It is unclear what will happen next in the division, but that isn’t stopping Gane or Volkov for making their case for a title shot.
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And in terms of why this fight made sense for Gane, who already holds a win over Volkov, the answer was simple.
“I'm number two, and he’s number three,” Gane said. “He's on a really good run, and so this fight makes sense. It looks like a semifinal to go to the belt, so that's really interesting.”
Gane and Volkov were originally set to face each other in October in Abu Dhabi, but an injury on the Volkov end forced the bout to be moved back a few weeks. The Frenchman noted that he was originally anticipating this fight to happen in September, most likely in Paris, but that didn’t end up happening. Either way, he was happy to have the additional time to prepare.
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It's been over a year since the 34-year-old has fought, his last win coming over Tai Tuivasa in Paris in September 2023. With a layoff like that, Gane is itching to get back in the Octagon and feel the energy of the crowd.
Full Fight | Ciryl Gane vs Tai Tuivasa
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Full Fight | Ciryl Gane vs Tai Tuivasa
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“I'm really excited about that,” Gane said. “This is really special. This is a really special feeling to be in the cage in front of your opponent, in front of the crowd, that's really special. I can't wait.”
Since falling to Jones in a fight for the vacant heavyweight title, Gane is eager to get back to the top and claim UFC gold. That starts by securing another victory over Volkov, but in Gane’s eyes, earning the win is enough to stake his spot in line.
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“I'm really focused on Saturday and after that I think we are going to talk with the UFC about what is going to happen when I get a win.”
UFC 310: Pantoja vs Asakura took place live from T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada on December 7, 2024. See the final Prelim & Main Card Results, Official Scorecards and Who Won Bonuses - and relive the action on UFC FIGHT PASS!
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