The UFC has finalized a massive matchup in the heavyweight division. ESPN’s Brett Okamoto was the first to report today that the promotion has finalized a matchup between the undefeated Ciryl Gane (8-0) and Alexander Volkov (33-8).
The fight will headline a UFC Fight Night on June 26th. For Ciryl Gane, this matchup on June 26th will be his next step up in competition. The French heavyweight has been slowly climbing the ladder since his UFC debut in 2019.
Last December, Gane knocked out former heavyweight champion, Junior Dos Santos. After that knockout win, the UFC gave him a quick turnaround to headline a card in February against Jairzinho Rozenstruik.
The matchup was being built up as a matchup between two knockout artist in the heavyweight division. However, the fight failed to live up to expectations and neither man landed any massive shots during the fight.
That said, the fight was still a domination from Ciryl Gane who won all five rounds on all three scorecards. Gane is now 5-0 in the UFC and could be one win away from a title shot.
UFC title eliminator?
Alexander Volkov looked better than ever in his last outing. Just a couple of weeks before Gane defeated Rozenstruik, Volkov took on Alistair Overeem in the main event of a fight night.
Unlike the Gane fight, this one didn’t go the distance. Volkov completely picked apart Overeem on his way to picking up his second straight UFC win. A few years ago, Volkov was only one win away from a title shot.
Well, in reality, he was seconds away from a title shot when he was fighting Derrick Lewis. However, The Black Beast landed a massive knockout shot in the final seconds to earn himself a shot at the UFC heavyweight title.
Now, Volkov appears to be in a similar position. He’s once again perhaps just a win away from earning himself a shot at the title. This should be a fantastic matchup on June 26th and a big one for the heavyweight division.