Ciryl Gane and Alexander Volkov face off this Saturday (7), at UFC 310 , in a fight that could define the next challenger for the heavyweight division belt (up to 120 kg). Despite Volkov being in great form, with four consecutive wins, the Frenchman is considered the favorite in the main betting houses. However, former fighter and current commentator Chael Sonnen disagrees with this analysis.
On his YouTube channel, Sonnen questioned Gane's status as the favorite. The former rival of Anderson Silva criticized the Frenchman for prioritizing his acting career over competing regularly and stressed that this choice could negatively affect his performance in the octagon.
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“Ciryl is a huge favorite. I honestly don’t know why. I don’t want to be negative about Ciryl, but I will say this: You don’t get better at this sport without doing it, and Ciryl passed up great opportunities to make a movie that no one has ever heard of and probably no one will ever see. But there’s no going back. Every actor wants to be an athlete and every athlete wants to be an actor. There’s no balancing act. Now Ciryl is going to be facing a version of himself in large part,” Sonnen explained.
Sonnen is banking on Volkov's evolution to win the fight
Gane and Volkov already faced each other in June 2021, when the Frenchman dominated the fight and won by unanimous decision. However, Sonnen believes that the Russian has evolved since then and, based on his last fight against Sergei Pavlovich , claims that Volkov is in the best form of his career.
“Volkov came in there and didn’t even take him seriously. Volkov’s trainer, between rounds, brought him water and a comb. He combed his hair between rounds. He was marketing himself, joking around, performing, because he was completely unconcerned about your great blond hope,” Chael recalled.
Currently ranked third, Alexander Volkov is on a four-fight winning streak. Ciryl Gane , on the other hand, hasn't fought since his victory over Serghei Spivac in Paris last year, when he bounced back from his loss to Jon Jones at UFC 285.
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