French MMA fighter Ciryl Gane was named the winner in a split decision by the judges over Russian Alexander Volkov at UFC 310 on Saturday in Las Vegas.
A victory with a bitter taste. Under the whistles of the public, Ciryl Gane was declared the winner of a close fight, a decision which left many people in disbelief, including the Frenchman himself, who first left the octagon before speaking as tradition dictates.
The return of “Good kid” in the cage fifteen months after his last fight was chopped and hung, but the result allows him to claim next time a renowned opponent, who could bring him closer to the heavyweight belt, him the 3rd in the ranking who has just pushed back the 4th.
“It was close, he did a good job. I put him in danger in several situations, maybe that’s why the judges chose me”estimated the Frenchman, looking defeated.
“I broke my toes in the first second of the fight, it didn’t help me. I’m not happy with the fight, I’m happy with the decision, it was my comeback, it wasn’t easy, but I’m not happy.”he added before limping away.
Aged 34, Ciryl Gane had not fought since September 2023 and his demolition of Serghei Spivac in front of the public at Bercy.

Frenchman Ciryl Gane celebrates his split decision victory against Russian Alexander Volkov in a heavyweight fight at UFC 310, in Las Vegas, December 7, 2024 / Steve Marcus / GETTY IMAGES NORTH AMERICA/AFP
Former darling of the octagon, he only has two losses in the UFC, out of his two chances for a belt: in January 2022 against Francis Ngannou, then during an expeditious fight against Jon Jones in March 2023 which had cut its momentum.
Favorite against the Russian Alexander Volkov (36 years old, 38 victories and now 11 defeats), whom he had already beaten in 2021, the Frenchman, former interim champion, did not remove all doubts about his ability to dominate one day the heavyweight category.
Yet he dominated the first round, taking the Russian to the ground and then coming close to strangling him before Volkov was saved by the bell.
Largely dominated on the ground by the Russian in the 3rd round, it was the 2nd round which caused controversy, two judges giving it to “Good kid”.
The Russian was more spectacular with a violent right punch after a spin, then a kick to the face followed by a direct strike.

Russian Alexander Volkov fights against Frenchman Ciryl Gane in the third round of their fight at UFC 310, in Las Vegas, December 7, 2024 / Steve Marcus / GETTY IMAGES NORTH AMERICA/AFP
The total statistics are well in favor of the Frenchman, who hit 41 times against 33 for the Russian, according to the UFC, and was the author of two « takedown » (take the opponent to the ground), for a single suffered.