Gane Beats Volkov in UFC 310 Rematch
Volkov’s knee injury moved his rematch with Ciryl Gane from UFC 308 to UFC 310, where Gane won a close split decision.
A rematch after a one-sided first meeting
Gane and Volkov first fought in June 2021, when Gane won by unanimous decision. He controlled the five-round contest with range, movement and measured striking, earning 50–45, 50–45 and 49–46 on the judges’ cards. Gane went on to win the interim heavyweight title later that year. By the time the rematch was booked, both men had remained near the top of the division, and the second meeting offered Volkov a chance to show what had changed since the first.
The injury changed the date, not the matchup
The pair had been scheduled for UFC 308 in Abu Dhabi on October 26, 2024. Volkov’s knee injury in training forced him out of that event, and the UFC moved the bout to its December pay-per-view in Las Vegas. That gave him roughly six additional weeks to recover. The change also meant UFC 308 proceeded without one of its heavyweight attractions, while Gane had to wait to face the same opponent rather than accept a replacement. MMA Fighting reported the rescheduling.
By UFC 310, the contest was a three-round main-card bout. Gane started quickly and mixed striking with takedowns; Volkov rallied and made the later rounds competitive. All three rounds mattered on the cards: the three scorecards all read 29–28, with two judges favoring Gane. The split decision—29–28, 28–29, 29–28—gave Gane the win and made the rematch far closer on paper than their first contest. The official UFC scorecards list the result.
A close result with consequences
Volkov publicly objected to the decision, and the narrow cards kept debate around the result alive after fight night. The official record, however, is a Gane victory and a 2–0 lead in their series. The rematch did not settle every argument about who had the better performance, but it delivered the competitive fight that the postponed UFC 308 bout had promised. What began as a late change to an Abu Dhabi card became one of UFC 310’s closest heavyweight contests.
UFC 310 also featured a flyweight title defense by Alexandre Pantoja against Kai Asakura and a range of bouts across the main card and preliminaries. For Gane and Volkov, though, the night centered on a rematch first delayed by injury and then decided over fifteen minutes. The scorecards explain why the rescheduled fight drew attention well beyond its eventual winner.
