Former interim UFC Heavyweight Champion, Ciryl Gane, can put himself back in the frame for a shot at the heavyweight title when he meets Alexander Volkov at UFC 310. It is one of the main events on the card.
Gane, who now has a professional record of 12-2-0, was back to his best earlier this year when he defeated Serghei Spivac in an event in Paris. He picked up the Performance of the Night with a second-round stoppage.
Second Time Two Heavyweights Have Met in Octagon
The event at the T-Mobile Arena in Nevada will be the second time that Gane and Volkov have met in the Octagon. The pair fought in June 2021, with the Frenchman prevailing by unanimous decision. Gane is the favorite at -225 in the sports betting to come out on top again. It would be no surprise to see Gane feature in Paddys tips and predictions for UFC 310 as his only two defeats so far in his career have come against Francis Ngannou and Jon Jones. Those men are considered two of the greatest UFC heavyweight champions in history.
Where you at @JonnyBones?
— Ciryl Gane (@ciryl_gane) January 12, 2023
I'm free this March, Vegas pic.twitter.com/vc5i0UC07f
Gane will be hoping to have a shot at the winner of the UFC Heavyweight Championship fight between Jones and Stipe Mioic at UFC 309. He is the second-highest-ranked fighter in the division, and a big performance against Volkov will help his chances of a title shot in early 2025.
Volkov has won his last four fights in the UFC, with wins coming over Jairzinho Rozenstruik, Alexander Romanov, Tai Tuivasa, and Sergei Pavlovich. His last defeat came to Tom Aspinall in March 2022.
Pantoja To Defend Flyweight Title Against Asakura
Brazil’s Alexandre Pantoja is just outside the UFC’s pound-for-pound top 10, but if he defends his Flyweight Title against Kai Asakura at UFC 310, he will make a strong case to move into the top 10 of the rankings.
Pantoja won his title at UFC 290, defeating Brandon Moreno by a split decision. He has since defended his belt against Brandon Royval and Steve Erceg. The latter was in Brazil, beating his Australian opponent by unanimous decision.
The Cannibal, as he is nicknamed, will go into second place for the most successful title defenses in the flyweight division should he beat Asakura. He is on a six-fight winning run in the UFC, with his last defeat coming against Askar Askarov in July 2020.
— 朝倉 海 Kai Asakura (@kai_1031_) November 9, 2024
Asakura signed with the UFC back in June and he will be making his debut for the brand in Nevada. The Japanese MMA star is the former Rizin bantamweight champion, after he defeated Juan Archuleta for the title last December.
This will be only the third time in UFC history that a fighter will be competing for a title on their debut with the brand. The 31-year-old arrives with a big reputation, and he has been rewarded by Dana White for switching to the UFC.
UFC 310 takes place on December 7, and it is one of the final events of 2024 on the international calendar in MMA.
