Author: Dan Hiergesell

It all goes down later today (Sat., June 26, 2021) at UFC Vegas 30 live on ESPN+ from inside UFC Apex in Las Vegas, Nevada, as undefeated heavyweight contender Ciryl Gane meets towering Russian veteran Alexander Volkov in the main event.

In addition to the heavyweight headliner, former UFC light heavyweight title challenger Ovince Saint Preux will move back up to heavyweight for a co-main event clash with Tanner Boser, streaking bantamweight Raoni Barcelos will put his 5-0 UFC record on the line against rising prospect Timur Valiev, and featherweight veteran Andre Fili will try to get back on track in an exciting matchup with proven finisher Daniel Pineda.

Take a look below at UFC Vegas 30’s complete fight card line up and start times:

Main Card (ESPN+)
4:00 p.m. ET / 1:00 p.m. PT

Ciryl Gane vs. Alexander Volkov
Tanner Boser vs. Ovince St. Preux
Raoni Barcelos vs. Timur Valiev
Andre Fili vs. Daniel Pineda
Tim Means vs. Nicolas Dalby
Renato Moicano vs. Jai Herbert

‘Prelims’ Undercard (ESPN+)
1:00 p.m. ET / 10:00 a.m. PT

Kennedy Nzechukwu vs. Danilo Marques
Shavkat Rakhmonov vs. Michel Prazeres
Warlley Alves vs. Jeremiah Wells
Marcin Prachnio vs. Isaac Villanueva
Julia Avila vs. Julija Stoliarenko
Charles Rosa vs. Justin Jaynes
Yancy Medeiros vs. Damir Hadzovic

Here are all the ways to catch the action:

Online

• UFC Vegas 30: ‘Gane vs. Volkov’ entire fight card can be viewed via the ESPN+ streaming app.
• Subscriptions cost $5.99 per month.

Television

• UFC Vegas 30: ‘Gane vs. Volkov’ entire fight card can also be streamed via Xbox One, Apple TV, Android TV, Samsung Smart TV, and ChromeCast.

Tablet/Mobile

• UFC Vegas 30: ‘Gane vs. Volkov’ entire fight card can be viewed via ESPN+ streaming app through Google Play and iTunes stores.

Bars

• Check out a list of sports bars and pubs near you that will most likely be showing tonight’s fights CLICK HERE.

MMAmania.com will deliver LIVE round-by-round, blow-by-blow coverage of the entire UFC Vegas 30 fight card HERE, starting with the ESPN+ “Prelims” bouts at 1 p.m. ET, followed by the ESPN+ main card start time at 4 p.m. ET.

There are just some things in combat sports that you don’t see too often. A Muay Thai fighter getting disqualified for biting an opponent in the clinch is one of them.

That’s exactly what happened Friday at UAM Muay Thai Night 6 in Abu Dhabi during a “Prelims” battle between Mouhmad Amine Alharar and Mohammed Mardi.

The action spilled into the third round where Mardi really started to bust Alharar up with combinations and knees in the clinch. During an exchange inside Alhara grabbed a hold of Mardi and appeared to bite his neck. Mardi immediately pulled away in protest and the referee stepped in to stop the action.

Luckily, the referee saw the entire incident and disqualified Alhara on the spot, making this one of the more bizarre outcomes to a fight we’ve seen in quite some time. Check it out below:

This may not be as extreme as Mike Tyson biting Evander Holyfield’s ear off back in 1997, but it’s still a wild occurrence. Fortunately this bite was more to the neck and didn’t draw any noticeable blood.

The heavyweight division will gain some direction tomorrow night (Sat., June 26, 2021) at UFC Vegas 30 live on ESPN+ from inside UFC Apex in Las Vegas, Nevada, when Alexander Volkov meets Ciryl Gane in the main event.

This is a massive clash with substantial meaning in the dangerous heavyweight division. For Volkov, this is his opportunity to win three-straight fights and launch his name into the upper echelon of contenders in the weight class. For Gane, this is his chance to build on a perfect 5-0 UFC record and prove he’s evolving into the top contender that he seems to be.

Of course, the winner of Volkov vs. Gane will land close to title contention in the heavyweight division. Current UFC heavyweight champion Francis Ngannou is likely to defend his belt against Jon Jones or Derrick Lewis next. Former champion Stipe Miocic also remains in the mix as he tries to fight his way back to the title that he lost to “Predator” earlier this year. That means that Volkov or Gane can insert themselves into the picture if they turn in a memorable performance at UFC Vegas 30.

Ahead of their main event clash UFC has released a breakdown of the current state of the heavyweight division. The video can be seen in the above player and features an in-depth look at recent fights, the division’s top fighters, and what everything could look like by the end of 2021.

MMAmania.com will deliver LIVE round-by-round, blow-by-blow coverage of the entire UFC Vegas 30 fight card HERE, starting with the ESPN+ “Prelims” bouts at 1 p.m. ET, followed by the ESPN+ main card start time at 4 p.m. ET.

Alexander Volkov is hungry to secure his first shot at the UFC heavyweight title and it all starts tomorrow afternoon (Sat., June 26, 2021) at UFC Vegas 30 live on ESPN+ from inside UFC Apex in Las Vegas, Nevada, when “Drago” meets undefeated contender Ciryl Gane in the main event.

Volkov, 32, has been a wrecking machine inside of the Octagon of late. The towering Russian contender is coming off back-to-back knockout finishes over Alistair Overeem and Walt Harris. In turn, Volkov’s UFC record now stands at 7-2, losing only to top contenders Derrick Lewis by insane comeback and Curtis Blaydes. He has looked better each and every time we’ve seen him, win or lose.

Volkov is looking to capture even more success this weekend against Gane. It’s a tough matchup, but one “Drago” feels prepared to win.

“I worked on some special things just for Ciryl Gane,” Volkov said. “I was looking at a lot of his fights, his videos. I feel like I did my homework really good. We’ll see how it’ll be in the Octagon, but I’m feeling great right now.”

Gane is certainly going to bring some new tricks to the table as well. The undefeated contender has produced a 5-0 record inside of the Octagon since his debut in 2019. With wins over Jairzinho Rozenstruik, Junior dos Santos, and Tanner Boser, “Bon Gamin” has displayed some really good striking along the way. Volkov aims to get the better of the exchanges on the feet and prove he’s a more complete fighter all-around.

“(Gane is) really talented,” Volkov said. “He has really good striking skills; one of the best in our division. He’s also good in grappling and wrestling, but I’m feeling like I’m here to win. I’m feeling like it’s really a good fight for me, and I just want to show everybody that I am better in everything.”

If Volkov is able to hand Gane his first professional loss then it may very well lead to a UFC title shot. Jon Jones and Derrick Lewis certainly have the inside track for a future matchup with current champion Francis Ngannou, but “Drago” would position himself close to the top with a win this weekend.

“We will see how it will be,” Volkov said. “I don’t want to look (past him), but I am ready for the title fight. I am thinking about it every day, but for now, I have to fight with Ciryl Gane and show the best performance that I can.”

MMAmania.com will deliver LIVE round-by-round, blow-by-blow coverage of the entire UFC Vegas 30 fight card HERE, starting with the ESPN+ “Prelims” bouts at 1 p.m. ET, followed by the ESPN+ main card start time at 4 p.m. ET.

Anderson Silva reminded the combat sports world that he’s one of the best fighters of all time after defeating Julio Cesar Chavez Jr. in a boxing match earlier this month (highlights HERE). Almost everyone who witnessed Silva out-box the former WBC champion was left impressed, including social media influencer Jake Paul.

Silva, 46, had won just one MMA fight since 2012 and was entering just his third professional boxing match. Still, the former UFC middleweight champion looked comfortable, mobile, precise, and willing to load up on some of his punches on the inside. It was quite spectacular, especially considering he was a sizeable underdog against Chavez Jr.

Earlier this week, Paul caught up with TMZ to discusses Silva’s performance and pay his respects.

“Anderson’s 46 years old, and I thought he did an incredible job,” said Paul. “He was sticking and moving, bouncing around the ring, having fun, was throwing combos. He’s long and lanky and to come in there and beat Julio Cesar Chavez Jr., who’s what, 50? Wins in the ring, is a world champion … this just goes to show that MMA strikers are also great boxers, and I think a lot of people forget that. That is the first skill that MMA fighters learn if they’re going to learn how to fight, is boxing. So I thought he looked amazing.”

Paul, who is coming off a knockout win over former UFC fighter Ben Askren earlier this year, is scheduled to box former UFC welterweight champion Tyron Woodley this August. The social media star reached out to Silva after his win over Chavez Jr. to recruit him to compete on his undercard against boxing legend Roy Jones Jr. While Silva has been long rumored to box Jones “Spider” also made it known that he’d be interested in mixing it up with the Paul brothers as well.

“Anything is possible,” Paul said. “I didn’t initially think of that, but my saying is ‘Anyone, any time, any place.’ But I think it’ll be more interesting to see Anderson Silva fight Roy Jones Jr. on my undercard, which is what I originally tweeted out there because he beat one legendary boxer, let’s see if he can beat another legendary boxer. Maybe there’s a fight for us down the road. I think there’s talks about him maybe fighting against my brother (Logan Paul). But Anderson’s a nice guy, and I respect him as a legend.”

It’s nice to know that Silva still has a place in combat sports after his storied UFC career came to a close. The pound-for-pound legend clearly has some boxing skills and is not afraid to mix it up with former champions or high-profile YouTube fighters. Let’s hope Silva gets paid well his next time around and is able to showcase the striking he did against Chavez Jr.

Fight fans nearly witnessed a brawl at the official BKFC 18 weigh ins. Luckily, security was there to step in.

Julian Lane, who is known from his stint on The Ultimate Fighter, is expected to fight Jake Bostwick on the BKFC 18 “Prelims.” The two men stepped on the scales earlier tonight (Fri., June 25, 2021) for their 175-pound matchup and all hell almost broke loose.

Lane weighed in first and simply couldn’t stay still. The MMA veteran was pacing back-and-forth waiting for Bostwick to weigh in. Bostwick eventually stepped on the scale and then proceeded to ignore Lane while striking some poses for the media. Once Bostwick turned his attention to “Nitrane” that’s when Lane pushed him back with his forehead. Bostwick returned favor before slapping Lane in the side of the head. The incident was quickly broken up after that.

Check out the weigh-ins scuffle above courtesy of Bare Knuckle Fighting Championship (BKFC).

BKFC 18, which goes down tomorrow night live on FITE.TV PPV from inside Hard Rock Stadium in Miami, Fla., will feature a main card with four different title fights. This will includes appearances by former UFC veterans Thiago Alves, Hector Lombard, Joey Beltran and Joe Riggs. Not to mention the BKFC debut of Pearl Gonzalez.

Stick with Mania for more BKFC 18 news and reaction.