Ciryl Gane and Alexander Volkov face off on Saturday in a heavyweight showdown for the main event of UFC Vegas 30 at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas. Gane is currently ranked 3rd in the division while Volkov is ranked 5th.
Cyril “Bon Gamin” Gane comes into this fight with an 8-0 perfect record and since coming into the UFC he has a 5-0 record. Gane’s last fight came against Jairzinho Rozenstruik in February of 2021 and it was a dominating performance. Gane outstruck his opponent 102-42 and he also had two takedowns in that fight. Two fights ago against Junior Dos Santos in December of 2020, it was midway through the second round he finished the fight by knockout. Gane is averaging 5.04 significant strikes per minute while absorbing 1.85 significant strikes per minute. Gane is averaging 1.13 takedowns every 15 minutes, but he is only successful on 26 percent of his attempts. Gane also is stopping 100 percent of his opponent’s takedown attempts. In this fight for Gane, it’s going to be about limiting the damage that Volkov is able to inflict on him.
On the other side of this matchup is Alexander Volkov who sits with a 33-8 record overall and he has won each of the last two fights. Volkov’s last fight came against Alistair Overeem in February of 2021, and it was midway through the second round he finished the fight by knockout. Volkov is averaging 4.88 significant strikes per minute while absorbing 2.48 significant strikes per minute. Volkov is averaging 0.66 takedowns every 15 minutes, and he is successful on 70 percent of his takedown attempts. Volkov is stopping 66 percent of his opponent’s takedown attempts. Each of the last two wins by Volkov has been by knockout, and he will be hunting that in this one.
Gane does a good job of avoiding damage, and that will be the case again in this fight. Look for Gane to avoid the big punch for Volkov, and the favorite will come away with the victory. I would also throw a few dollars on Gane winning this fight by decision.
AUTHOR: Shane Mickle
