A controversial victory but a victory nonetheless. French MMA fighter Ciryl Gane was named the winner in a split decision by the judges against Russian Alexander Volkov at UFC 310 on Saturday in Las Vegas. A choice that few people understood, starting with the public, who did not hesitate to let it be known by booing at the top of their lungs at this decision. But the Frenchman himself seemed surprised at first, leaving the octagon before speaking as tradition dictates.
In any case, if the return of “Good kid” in the cage fifteen months after his last fight was choppy and hanging, the result allows him to claim the next time against a renowned opponent, who could bring him closer to the heavyweight belt, him the 3rd in the ranking who has just pushed back the 4th.
By clicking on“I accept”you accept the deposit of cookies by external services and will thus have access to the content of our partners.
More information on the Cookie management policy page
I accept
“I broke my toes”
“It was close, he did a good job. I put him in danger in several situations, perhaps that's why the judges chose me, said the Frenchman, looking defeated. I broke my toes in the first second of the fight, that didn't help me. I'm not happy with the fight, I'm happy with the decision, it was my comeback, it wasn't easy, but I'm not happy. »
Aged 34, Ciryl Gane had not fought since September 2023 and his demolition of Serghei Spivac in front of the public at Bercy. Former darling of the octagon, he has only two losses in the UFC, out of his two chances for a belt: in January 2022 against Francis Ngannou, then during an expeditious fight against Jon Jones in March 2023 which had cut its momentum.
A controversial second round
Favorite against the Russian Alexander Volkov (36 years old, 38 victories and now 11 defeats), whom he had already beaten in 2021, the Frenchman, former interim champion, did not remove all doubts about his ability to dominate one day the heavyweight category.
Yet he dominated the first round, taking the Russian to the ground and then coming close to strangling him before Volkov was saved by the bell. Largely dominated on the ground by the Russian in the 3rd round, it was the 2nd round which caused controversy, two judges giving it “Good kid”.
The Russian was indeed more spectacular with a violent right punch after a spin, then a kick to the face followed by a direct strike. But on arrival the total statistics are well to the advantage of the Frenchman, who hit 41 times against 33 for the Russian, according to the UFC, and was the author of two “takedowns” (taking the opponent to the ground), for a single undergo.
