A heavyweight rematch is set for the UFC’s final pay-per-view of the year – a new home after an injury necessitated a move.
An injury to Alexander Volkov (38-10 MMA, 12-4 UFC) forced the promotion to rebook his fight against Ciryl Gane (12-2 MMA, 9-2 UFC)) from UFC 308 next month to UFC 310 in December. The promotion made the move official Friday.
🚨 Hay nueva fecha para este choque de titanes, será en Las Vegas para #UFC310 pic.twitter.com/uAS1SX7He4
— UFC Español (@UFCEspanol) September 27, 2024
UFC 310 (pay-per-view, ESPN, ESPN+) takes place Dec. 7 at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas. UFC 308, the fight’s original home, is set for Oct. 26 at Etihad Arena in Abu Dhabi.
Former Bellator champion Volkov has won four straight fights against Jairzinho Rozenstruik, Alexandr Romanov, Tai Tuivasa and Sergei Pavlovich to put himself firmly back into title contention. That’s a spot he was when he first fought Gane in mid-2021. In that headliner, Gane walked away with a unanimous decision win.
In the aftermath, Volkov rebounded with a win over Marcin Tybura, then was submitted by current interim champion Tom Aspinall before he went on his current 4-0 run. That run includes first-round knockouts of Rozenstruik and Romanov and a second-round submission of Tuivasa.
Gane beat Volkov in their first fight while he was on his ascension up the heavyweight ladder. It moved him to 9-0 and led to an interim heavyweight title fight with Derrick Lewis at UFC 265, which he won by third-round knockout. Gane dropped a decision in January 2022 to Francis Ngannou in a title unification bout, but it didn’t take him long to work his way back.
After a third-round bonus-winning knockout of Tuivasa, Gane got another title shot when he fought Jon Jones for the belt left vacant by Ngannou’s move to the PFL. But Jones submitted him in about two minutes to become champion, and put Gane back in the pack.
A year ago, Gane bounced back with a bonus-winning knockout of Sergei Spivac in front of his home fans in Paris, and that set up the crucial fight with Volkov.
With the addition, the UFC 310 lineup now includes:
- Dominick Reyes vs. Anthony Smith
- Virna Jandiroba vs. Tatiana Suarez
- Ciryl Gane vs. Alexander Volkov
- Clay Guida vs. Chase Hooper
- Michael Chiesa vs. Max Griffin
For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC 310.
