Ciryl Gane vs. Alexander Volkov 2 Official For Abu Dhabi-Held UFC 308

Top UFC heavyweights will run it back in the Middle East this coming October. After returning to the Etihad Arena for UFC Fight Night: Cory Sandhagen vs. Umar Nurmagomedov this weekend, the mixed martial arts leader will be back in Abu Dhabi for its annual October pay-per-view there. And the UFC 308 numbered event has […]

Continue Reading Ciryl Gane vs. Alexander Volkov 2 Official For Abu Dhabi-Held UFC 308 at MMA News.

Top UFC heavyweights will run it back in the Middle East this coming October.

After returning to the Etihad Arena for UFC Fight Night: Cory Sandhagen vs. Umar Nurmagomedov this weekend, the mixed martial arts leader will be back in Abu Dhabi for its annual October pay-per-view there.

And the UFC 308 numbered event has a major heavyweight matchup confirmed. Last month, Brazilian outlet Ag. Fight reported that former interim heavyweight champion Ciryl Gane (12-2) will run it back with seven-time UFC headliner Alexander Volkov (38-10) on October 26.

The pair previously collided in a UFC Fight Night main event at the Apex in June 2021, with Gane winning in lopsided fashion on the scorecards after five rounds.

On Saturday, Dana White confirmed the matchup in a video on social media.

Gane Ends Year Layoff Against Familiar Foe At UFC 308

When he makes his long-awaited return later this year, Gane will be tasked with stalling the resurgence of a longtime heavyweight veteran in Volkov.

The Frenchman hasn’t competed since the UFC Fight Night in Paris last September. For the second straight year, he recorded a main event knockout win in front of his home fans, this time at the expense of Serghei Spivac. That result marked a rebound performance six months on from a quick submission loss for Gane at the hands of Jon Jones in their vacant title fight.

According to reports, “Bon Gamin” turned down the chance to challenge for Tom Aspinall’s interim gold this month at UFC 304 in Manchester, England, owing to acting commitments. He’ll now also miss a France-held card for the first time, with Renato Moicano and Benoît Saint Denis headlining at Accor Arena on September 28 instead.

Volkov, meanwhile, is flying high having won five of six since his loss to Gane in 2021. And following a defeat to Aspinall the following year, the Russian has reeled off four consecutive triumphs, most recently outpointing his fellow countryman Sergei Pavlovich at the UFC Fight Night in Saudi Arabia last month.

“Drago” will now return to the Middle East looking for redemption opposite Gane.

Continue Reading Ciryl Gane vs. Alexander Volkov 2 Official For Abu Dhabi-Held UFC 308 at MMA News.

Report: Ciryl Gane vs. Alexander Volkov 2 Targeted For Abu Dhabu-Held UFC 308

Top UFC heavyweights are expected to run it back in the Middle East this coming October. After returning to the Etihad Arena for UFC Fight Night: Cory Sandhagen vs. Umar Nurmagomedov early next month, the mixed martial arts leader will be back in Abu Dhabi for its annual October pay-per-view there. And the UFC 308 […]

Continue Reading Report: Ciryl Gane vs. Alexander Volkov 2 Targeted For Abu Dhabu-Held UFC 308 at MMA News.

Top UFC heavyweights are expected to run it back in the Middle East this coming October.

After returning to the Etihad Arena for UFC Fight Night: Cory Sandhagen vs. Umar Nurmagomedov early next month, the mixed martial arts leader will be back in Abu Dhabi for its annual October pay-per-view there.

And the UFC 308 numbered event looks close to having its first major matchup confirmed, with Brazilian outlet Ag. Fight reporting that former interim heavyweight champion Ciryl Gane (12-2) will run it back with seven-time UFC headliner Alexander Volkov (38-10) on October 26.

Gane Ends Year Layoff Against Familiar Foe At UFC 308

When he makes his long-awaited return later this year, Gane will be tasked with stalling the resurgence of a longtime heavyweight veteran in Volkov.

The Frenchman hans’t competed since the UFC FIght Night in Paris last September. For the second straight year, he recorded a main event knockout win in front of his home fans, this time at the expense of Serghei Spivac. That result marked a rebound performance six months on from a quick submission loss for Gane at the hands of Jon Jones in their vacant title fight.

According to reports, “Bon Gamin” turned down the chance to challenge for Tom Aspinall’s interim gold this month at UFC 304 in Manchester, England, owing to acting committments. He’ll now also miss a France-held card for the first time, with Renato Moicano and Benoît Saint Denis headlining at Accor Arena on September 28 instead.

Volkov, meanwhile, is flying high having won five of six since his loss to Gane in 2021. And following a defeat to Aspinall the following year, the Russian has reeled off four cosnecutive triumphs, most recently outpointing his fellow countryman Sergei Pavlovich at the UFC Fight Night in Saudi Arabia last month.

“Drago” will now return to the Middle East looking for redemption opposite Gane.

Continue Reading Report: Ciryl Gane vs. Alexander Volkov 2 Targeted For Abu Dhabu-Held UFC 308 at MMA News.

Report: UFC Received ‘Huge Figure’ From Abu Dhabi To Book Conor McGregor On Fight Island

McGregorUFC 257 was a big success for the promotion and Conor McGregor played a big role. The Irishman returned to action for the first time in just over a year as he faced Dustin Poirier in a rematch in the lightweight headliner last week. Although it didn’t go McGregor’s way as he was knocked out […]

McGregor

UFC 257 was a big success for the promotion and Conor McGregor played a big role.

The Irishman returned to action for the first time in just over a year as he faced Dustin Poirier in a rematch in the lightweight headliner last week.

Although it didn’t go McGregor’s way as he was knocked out in the second round, the event did extremely well with 1.6 million pay-per-view buys with 400,000 of those coming globally.

Dave Meltzer of the Wrestling Observer Newsletter recently touched on how big a number that was (via Bloody Elbow).

“That number would be a figure not including refunds, and while nobody knows the number, there were a significant number of people who asked for and got refunds. The ESPN+ number is legit. The international number is an estimate and an extremely generous one, but even at 1.5 million, the show was a huge success. Only the biggest boxing matches in history have ever topped it, and nothing but boxing and the one UFC fight in the history of PPV have ever even been in the ballpark.

“The U.S. PPV revenue would have been roughly $84 million, so ESPN’s $200 million purchase of the rights for the year looks like a steal now.”

Additionally, Meltzer adds that the UFC received a huge figure to have McGregor feature in Abu Dhabi as opposed to his usual Las Vegas appearances.

“An interesting question, given the nature of the revenue, is if ESPN is kicking any money into McGregor or if it’s all coming from UFC, since the windfall he’s bringing is going to ESPN,” Meltzer added. “UFC got a huge figure from the Abu Dhabi government for its three shows over eight days, largely based on bringing in McGregor.”

The UFC and ESPN are certainly benefiting massively but it begs the question — just how much is McGregor being underpaid considering how huge a draw he has been for the promotion in recent years.

What do you make of Abu Dhabi paying the UFC a huge figure for McGregor to appear?

Dana White: Conor McGregor Could ‘Probably’ Show Up At UFC 242

Conor McGregor’s return to the UFC remains unknown. The former featherweight and lightweight champ has been on the bench since his fourth-round submission loss to arch rival Khabib Nurmagomedov at last October’s UFC 229. He’s been cam…

Conor McGregor’s return to the UFC remains unknown. The former featherweight and lightweight champ has been on the bench since his fourth-round submission loss to arch rival Khabib Nurmagomedov at last October’s UFC 229. He’s been campaigning for a rematch with the undefeated “Eagle” ever since. But he won’t be receiving it – at least […]

The post Dana White: Conor McGregor Could ‘Probably’ Show Up At UFC 242 appeared first on MMA News.

Dustin Poirier Reveals Secret Weapons He’s Enlisting For Khabib Camp

Interim UFC lightweight champion Dustin Poirier is headed for the biggest fight of his career when he battles undisputed champ Khabib Nurmagomedov in the featured bout of September’s UFC 242 from Abu Dhabi. ‘The Diamond’ brings arguab…

Interim UFC lightweight champion Dustin Poirier is headed for the biggest fight of his career when he battles undisputed champ Khabib Nurmagomedov in the featured bout of September’s UFC 242 from Abu Dhabi. ‘The Diamond’ brings arguably the most momentum he’s ever had into the fight. Poirier has won four straight fights over top names […]

The post Dustin Poirier Reveals Secret Weapons He’s Enlisting For Khabib Camp appeared first on MMA News.

‘UFC Fight Night: Nogueira vs. Nelson’ Weigh-In Results — All Fighters on Weight, Andrew Craig Pulled Due to Tonsillitis


(LMFAO…I still can’t believe this poster is a real thing.)

All fighters competing on tomorrow afternoon’s UFC Fight Night: Nogueira vs. Nelson Fight Pass card in Abu Dhabi weighed-in today without incident — although one matchup was scrapped just hours before the weigh-ins. Due to a sudden bout of tonsillitis, middleweight Andrew Craig was forced to withdraw from his bout against Chris Camozzi, which is a bummer because Camozzi was fighting for a great cause.

The removal of Craig vs. Camozzi means that the Abu Dhabi card will only feature eight matches, making it the briefest UFC card since…well look, I’m not going to burn 15 minutes on Wikipedia trying to find the answer to that, but it’s been a while.

In a semi-related story, the monthly cost of Fight Pass was suddenly jacked up from 10 euros to 16 euros ($22.20) for Polish subscribers. But hey, you guys were warned, right? Weigh-in results for Nogueira vs. Nelson are after the jump…


(LMFAO…I still can’t believe this poster is a real thing.)

All fighters competing on tomorrow afternoon’s UFC Fight Night: Nogueira vs. Nelson Fight Pass card in Abu Dhabi weighed-in today without incident — although one matchup was scrapped just hours before the weigh-ins. Due to a sudden bout of tonsillitis, middleweight Andrew Craig was forced to withdraw from his bout against Chris Camozzi, which is a bummer because Camozzi was fighting for a great cause.

The removal of Craig vs. Camozzi means that the Abu Dhabi card will only feature eight matches, making it the briefest UFC card since…well look, I’m not going to burn 15 minutes on Wikipedia trying to find the answer to that, but it’s been a while.

In a semi-related story, the monthly cost of Fight Pass was suddenly jacked up from 10 euros to 16 euros ($22.20) for Polish subscribers. But hey, you guys were warned, right? Weigh-in results for Nogueira vs. Nelson are after the jump…

Main Card (Fight Pass, 2 p.m. ET/11 a.m. PT)
Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira (238) vs. Roy Nelson (255.5)
Clay Guida (146) vs. Tatsuya Kawajiri (145)
John Howard (171) vs. Ryan LaFlare (171)
Ramsey Nijem (156) vs. Beneil Dariush (155)

Preliminary Card (Fight Pass, 11:50 a.m. ET/8:50 a.m. PT)
Jared Rosholt (240) vs. Daniel Omielanczuk (248)
Thales Leites (185) vs. Trevor Smith (186)
Alan Omer (146) vs. Jim Alers (145.5)
Rani Yahya (135.5) vs. Johnny Bedford (135)