Ciryl Gane and Alexander Volkov will meet in the main event of UFC Fight Night on Saturday in Las Vegas. It is a pivotal matchup in the heavyweight division, and the winner could potentially earn a title shot against champion Francis Ngannou.
ESPN has Gane ranked No. 4 at heavyweight, while Volkov is right behind him at No. 6. While it seems like Derrick Lewis and Jon Jones are on the short list of Ngannou’s next challengers, whoever gets his hand raised Saturday could make his way into that conversation — especially with an impressive performance.
Gane (8-0) is one of the top up-and-coming fighters in any division, as well as a former teammate of Ngannou’s in Paris. The France native has won all five of his UFC fights, three of them by finish. Gane, 31, is coming off somewhat of a lackluster unanimous decision win over Jairzinho Rozenstruik in February.
Volkov (33-8) has won two straight and seven of nine in the UFC. The Russia native is coming off a second-round TKO of Alistair Overeem in February, perhaps the best victory of his career. Volkov, 32, has only two losses since 2015, to Lewis and Curtis Blaydes, another top heavyweight contender. Volkov has 25 finishes in 33 career victories.
In the co-main event, Tanner Boser and Ovince Saint Preux will clash in a unique heavyweight bout. Boser (19-8-1) has dropped two straight after winning two of three to begin his UFC run. Saint Preux (25-15), returning to heavyweight for the first time in three fights, has lost four of six after being a contender at light heavyweight.
Also on the card, Raoni Barcelos faces Timur Valiev in a bantamweight bout between action fighters, Andre Fili takes on Daniel Pineda in a featherweight scrap and veteran welterweights Tim Means and Nicolas Dalby face off.
Fight lineup:
Heavyweight: Ciryl Gane (8-0, 5-0 UFC, -155) vs. Alexander Volkov (33-8, 7-2 UFC, +130)
Heavyweight: Tanner Boser (19-8-1, 3-3 UFC, -175) vs. Ovince Saint Preux (25-15, 13-10 UFC, +150)
Men’s bantamweight: Raoni Barcelos (16-1, 5-0 UFC, -220) vs. Timur Valiev (17-2, 1 NC, 1-0 1 NC UFC, +180)
Men’s featherweight: Andre Fili (21-8, 9-7 UFC, -230) vs. Daniel Pineda (27-14, 4-5 UFC, +190)
Welterweight: Tim Means (31-12-1, 1 NC, 13-9 1 NC UFC, -130) vs. Nicolas Dalby (19-3, 2 NC, 3-2-1 1 NC UFC, +110)
Lightweight: Renato Moicano (14-4, 6-4 UFC, -240) vs. Jai Herbert (10-2, 0-1 UFC, +200)
Light heavyweight: Kennedy Nzechukwu (8-1, 2-1 UFC, -135) vs. Danilo Marques (11-2, 2-0 UFC, +115)
Welterweight: Shavkat Rakhmonov (13-0, 1-0 UFC, -300) vs. Michel Prazeres (26-3, 10-3 UFC, +240)
Welterweight: Warlley Alves (14-3, 8-4 UFC, -230) vs. Jeremiah Wells (8-2, 0-0 UFC, +190)
Light heavyweight: Marcin Prachnio (14-5, 1-3 UFC, -195) vs. Ike Villanueva (18-11, 1-2 UFC, +165)
Women’s bantamweight: Julia Avila (8-2, 2-1 UFC, -360) vs. Julija Stoliarenko (9-5-1, 0-1 UFC, +280)
Men’s featherweight: Charles Rosa (13-5, 4-5 UFC, -170) vs. Justin Jaynes (16-7, 1-3 UFC, +145)
Lightweight: Yancy Medeiros (15-7 1 NC, 6-7 1 NC UFC, +125) vs. Damir Hadzovic (13-6, 3-4 UFC, -150)