Ciryl Gane and Alexander Volkov have a No. 1 contender spot in their sights.
MMA Fighting confirmed with sources with knowledge of the matchup that Gane and Volkov have agreed to face one another in a heavyweight bout at UFC 308, which takes place at Etihad Arena in Abu Dhabi on Oct. 26. Contracts are still to be officially signed.
The news was first reported by Ag. Fight.
Gane (12-2) bounced back from a disappointing loss to Jon Jones at UFC 285 with a second-round TKO of Serghei Spivac at UFC Paris this past September. The loss to Jones was Gane’s second chance to become undisputed heavyweight champion after previously holding an interim belt. The Frenchman aims to move to the front of the title picture again if he can stop the streaking Volkov.
Since losing by submission to Tom Aspinall in March 2022, Volkov (38-10) has returned to form with four straight victories. He defeated fellow Russian Sergei Pavlovich via unanimous decision this past June to extend a run that also includes finishes of ranked heavyweights Tai Tuivasa, Alexandr Romanov, and Jairzinho Rozenstruik.
Gane and Volkov are currently No. 5 and No. 7 respectively in the MMA Fighting Global Rankings.
MMA Fighting’s Guilherme Cruz and Mike Heck contributed to this report.
