A big time heavyweight rematch is heading to UFC 308 in October. Last night, AG Fight was the first to report that former interim champion Ciryl Gane (12-2) will be returning to take on a familiar foe in top heavyweight contender Alexander Volkov (38-10).
UFC 308 goes down on October 26th in Abu Dhabi. Honestly, I’m a little shocked this is where this fight is taking place. A month before this fight, the promotion is returning to Paris, the home of Ciryl Gane. Gane has headlined the first two shows in Paris and the assumption was that he would headline the show again.
However, that distinction is given to Benoit Saint-Denis and Renato Moicano this time around. The fight will mark Gane’s first fight since September of last year when he knocked out Serghei Spivac in the second round. That fight was his first since his quick title loss to Jon Jones at UFC 285.
Gane won the interim title against Derrick Lewis back in August of 2021. Since that win, he’s 2-2 with two knockouts. That said, both losses came in undisputed UFC heavyweight title shots with one against Jones and the other being against Francis Ngannou. The win that earned Gane his interim title shot back in 2021, was a five-round decision win over Alexander Volkov.
UFC 308
Alexander Volkov has been on an absolute roll and he’s now ranked third in the heavyweight division only behind Gane and interim champion Tom Aspinall. Since that loss to Gane back in 2021, Volkov has gone 5-1 with the lone loss being against Aspinall. Volkov has actually won four straight fights with only one going the distance.
We just saw Volkov fight at the UFC’s first Fight Night in Saudi Arabia just a few weeks ago when he took on former interim title challenger and knockout artist Sergei Pavlovich. Volkov picked Pavlovich apart for three rounds to earn the decision win and get his fourth straight victory.
Volkov started his UFC career with four straight wins and was dominating Derrick Lewis back in 2018 in their fight. Had Volkov won that fight, he would’ve received a title shot. However, Derrick Lewis pulled off the miracle comeback and knocked Volkov out with just 11 seconds left in the fight.
Starting with that loss, Volkov went just 4-4 in his next eight fights. It didn’t feel like he’d ever reach title contention, but instead be a consistent top ten heavyweight. However, four straight wins has everyone thinking he’s championship material again. If he’s able to avenge his loss against Gane in October, he’s likely going to get a title shot in 2025.