UFC CEO Dana White offered words of support to Alexander Volkov after the heavyweight contender was controversially beaten by Ciryl Gane at this past weekend’s pay-per-view.
Volkov returned at UFC 310 on Saturday night for his second outing of the year, having extended his winning run to four straight fights with an upset win over Sergei Pavlovich in Saudi Arabia this past June. That result put the Russian up to #3 in the rankings and earned him a shot at avenging his 2021 main event loss to Gane.
In the eyes of many, “Drago” did enough to do just that inside Las Vegas’ T-Mobile Arena. But while judge Eric Colón agreed, Adalaide Byrd and Junichiro Kamijo shocked plenty by submitting scorecards in favor of the Frenchman.
Among those who disagreed with the result in an arena filled with boos after the result was the UFC CEO, who engaged in discourse with a clearly baffled and distraught Volkov as he exited the cage.
The moment was captured and posted by ESPN MMA on X.
"You got f—ed!"
Dana White wasn't happy with Alexander Volkov's split decision loss to Ciryl Gane at #UFC310
pic.twitter.com/MW8qV200oJ
— ESPN MMA (@espnmma) December 8, 2024
White told the Russian he was “f*cked” by the judges and that the promotion would try to do right by him.
The result marked Gane’s second victory over the Russian, coming three years on from a more convincing five-round decision over the former Bellator champion. “Bon Gamin” has now won back-to-back fights since a crushing defeat to Jon Jones in March 2023.