Ciryl Gane is set to face Alexander Volkov in a heavyweight clash in a potential title eliminator. Multiple sources confirmed to ESPN that the bout will take place in June on a UFC main event.
Ciryl Gane
Fresh off the unanimous win against Jairzinho Rozenstruik, Ciryl Gane (8-0) will be looking for his sixth UFC win and continue the undefeated streak in his MMA career. The Frenchman has already beaten the likes of Raphael Pessoa, Don’Tale Mayes, Tanner Boser and Junior Dos Santos. Coming in ranked at number 4, Gane will be looking to earn a potential title shot at the newly crowned heavyweight champion Francis Ngannou with a victory over Volkov.
Ciryl Gane has also finished the majority of his fights, with multiple knockouts and an impressive variety of submissions (heel hook, arm triangle, front choke) despite being a former Muay Thai kickboxer. Before entering the UFC, Gane was the TKO heavyweight champion in Quebec, Canada. His finish rate certainly makes him an exciting prospect.
Gane has shown that he is adept in all areas of MMA and remains undefeated which is an incredible feat for someone who only started training MMA a few years ago. Seen by many as the future of the heavyweight division, the Frenchman defeated a top 5 contender in his last fight and is now viewed as a legitimate threat to the title.
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Alexander Volkov
Standing in his way is the man fighting out of Moscow, Volkov who is coming off a dominant second-round TKO win against Alistair Overeem. Since joining the UFC, Volkov won his first 4 fights including a monumental KO against former UFC heavyweight champion Fabricio Werdum, which catapulted him into a no.1 contender fight against Derrick Lewis in October 2018. Unfortunately, the Russian fell short in that bout where he dominated the majority of the fight, only to be knocked out by the “Black Beast” in the remaining few seconds of the fight.
Volkov bounced back after taking more than a year off with a comfortable win against Greg Hardy only to lose again against the current no.3 ranked Curtis Blaydes in June last year. “Drago” came back in October and looked his best again with a superb teep kick TKO against Walt Harris and most recently finished Overeem in violent fashion.
Currently riding a two-fight winning streak, the Russian has remained one of the top heavyweights in the UFC for the past couple of years with his only losses coming to Lewis and Blaydes in the last four years. Ranked no.5 in the heavyweight division, the Russian will look to continue his winning ways to make his claim as one of the more dangerous men in the heavyweight division and hopefully earn a title shot.
UFC’s June 26 current fight card lineup
- Ciryl Gane vs. Alexander Volkov
- Maxim Grishin vs. Ovince Saint Preux
- Anthony Hernandez vs. Punahele Soriano
- Tim Elliott vs. Su Mudaerji
- Michel Prazeres vs. Shavkat Rakhmonov
- Justin Jaynes vs. Charles Rosa
