Alexander Volkov says Ciryl Gane is the man to beat when the French heavyweight meets Alex Pereira for the interim heavyweight title at UFC 328. The Russian heavyweight, who is also scheduled to fight Waldo Cortes-Acosta on the main card, said Gane’s movement and pace give Pereira a difficult puzzle to solve.
“Honestly, Ciryl is more favorite right now,” Volkov said at UFC 328 media day. He pointed to Gane’s “really great footwork” and said Pereira brings power, but he does not know how the former light heavyweight champion will look in the heavyweight division. Volkov said Pereira needs to pressure and counter, but Gane “don’t give him the opportunity,” adding that the Frenchman “just punches and kicks and moves a lot.”
Volkov’s read comes with the betting line tight: Pereira is listed as a slight -115 favorite, with Gane at -105. It is the kind of matchup that turns on one adjustment, one clean read, or one mistake, and Volkov made clear he thinks Gane’s style is the more complete answer. He said it is “a hard thing for Alex Pereira to solve in the fight” and added, “I’m not sure he can do this.”
The forecast carries extra weight because Volkov has already been in the cage with Gane. Before UFC 310, he had been riding a four-fight winning streak, but Gane beat him by split decision. Volkov then returned at UFC 321 in October and edged Jailton Almeida by split decision, a result that kept him in the mix but did not put him at the front of the line.
That is why his view of the title fight matters now. Pereira and Gane are fighting for an interim belt while Tom Aspinall’s return timetable remains uncertain, and Volkov knows his own path is still being judged by what he does next. “I understand my position right now in the division,” he said. “Maybe I need to show better performances, better show to fight for the belt, so I will just try to do this.”
For Volkov, the prediction is part analysis and part self-assessment. He is close enough to the title picture to see where the next opening may come from, but not close enough to assume it will be handed to him. At UFC 328, he will try to keep building toward that chance while the division’s center of gravity shifts around Gane, Pereira and the interim heavyweight title.
