LAS VEGAS – Ciryl Gane is entirely focused on Saturday’s UFC 310 rematch with Alexander Volkov, and not the current drama in the heavyweight division.
Gane (12-2 MMA, 9-2 UFC) had minimal interest in discussing the ongoing speculation about whether a title unification bout between Jon Jones and Tom Aspinall will happen during Wednesday’s media day, and kept relaying focus back to the matchup with Volkov (38-10 MMA, 12-4 UFC).
The booking of a second fight between Gane and Volkov, which takes place at T-Mobile Arena (ESPN+ pay-per-view, ESPN2, Hulu, ESPN+), came as a surprise to some. Gane won a lopsided unanimous decision in their initial meeting at UFC Fight Night 190 in June 2021, but he thinks the current circumstances made it logical.
“No, it’s not a surprise,” Gane told MMA Junkie and other reporters. “This fight makes sense. He’s just above me (in the rankings), so that’s completely normal. In front of me is Jones and Tom, and I don’t know exactly what’s going to happen. So this makes sense.”
In the more than three years that have passed since they last met in the octagon, Gane is 2-2 with title-fight losses to Jones and Francis Ngannou. Volkov, meanwhile, is 5-1, with his lone blemish coming against Aspinall.
Although it would appear on paper that Volkov has the edge in momentum, Gane hasn’t seen much in the way of evolution. It doesn’t mean the fight plays out the exact same way as it did before, but in the end, the person having their hand raised will by identical.
“I didn’t see anything special in his last fight,” Gane said. “I saw, not exactly the same because he’s a high level of striking, but I saw the same guy.
“No, it’s going to be different. It’s completely different, because this time will be three rounds. The last time it was five. That is different. So no, it will be different.”
The sequel between the Frenchman and the Russian is about as high-stakes as it heavyweight with no belt on the line. How the situation with Jones and Aspinall plays out remains to be seen, but the winner at UFC 310 will be a key player in the future of the weight class.
“At this day Jones is the champion, Tom is the interim champion – that is it.” Gane said. “It’s like a semifinal (for a title shot), yeah, a little bit.”
For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC 310.
