‘I got a win, but I’m not happy’: UFC 310 rocked by farcical decision
UFC 310 has been rocked by a farcical split decision, with heavyweight Ciryl Gane completely stunned he was given a victory.
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Ciryl Gane has secured a split decision victory over Alexander Volkov at UFC 310 on Sunday (AEDT), but it was clear the French heavyweight and his corner were stunned.
Volkov was clearly shocked when his arm wasn’t raised, despite landing double the amount of total strikes and tallying 52 seconds more ground control time.
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The Russian also secured one more take down than his opponent, and Gane immediately left the octagon when he was announced as the winner via split decision (29-28, 28-29, 29-28) before being called back by Joe Rogan.
He was then asked why he and his coach quickly left, saying: “I got a win, but I’m not happy about this fight.”
And it was clear to both Rogan and commentator Jon Anik that Volkov should have been awarded the win.
“Volkov should have won that one,” Joe Rogan said before Anik added: “The reaction of his coach was very telling”.
Gane also revealed he broke his toes with the first kick of the fight, pointing to the outside of his left foot.
Alexandre Pantoja has defended his flyweight title with a stunning victory over debutant Kai Asakura, submitting the Japanese challenger in the second round.
His victory marks the third time the Brazilian has defended his title in one of the most competitive divisions in the UFC, having snatched it from Brandon Moreno in July 2023.
Pantoja then retained his belt with wins over Brandon Royval and Steve Erceg, before beating Asakura who only just joined the UFC, having previously competed at bantamweight in the Rizin Fighting Federation.
His latest rear naked choke sees his record move to 29-5, adding yet another submission to the previous 10 wins he already had through that method.
Asakusa (21-5) vowed to stamp his mark on the UFC upon his arrival before the fight, saying: “I always aim to go for the KO finish, and I’m here to bring excitement back to the flyweight division”.
Speaking after the fight, Pantoja said he would take his talents to Japan if called upon to once again defend his belt.
“This is the level, UFC level, it’s so high. You think some Japanese (fighter) can come and take my belt? No,” he said.
“I’m ready to go to Japan and defend, and do whatever he wants. But also he was a very tough warrior, everyone see the highlights.”
Brandon Royval is the number one contender, but Pantoja has already beaten him twice so it remains to be seen who his next opponent could be.
Pantoja also called out Demetrious Johnson, whose last fight in the UFC was in 2018, claiming he is now the greatest flyweight of all time.
That is despite Johnson having a staggering 11 title defences during his career.
“This is something for you Demetrious Johnson, I am the GOAT here, but if you want to prove you’re the GOAT come back,” he said.
Daniel Cormier then said: “I’d love to see DJ come back, he retired but we’ve got to find somebody to fight Pantoja”.
RAKHMONOV SET FOR TITLE BOUT
Shavkat Rakhmonov has beaten Ian Machado Garry in the welterweight title eliminator, setting up a potential title fight again Belal Muhammad.
Rakhmonov kept his 19-0 unbeaten record in tact, having beaten Stephen Thompson, Geoff Neal, and Neil Magny en route to the top of the division.
The Kazakh fighter, who was previously the M-1 Global welterweight champion, and will now look to steal the welterweight belt after calling out Muhammad post-fight.
The current champion was in the audience watching on, and entered the octagon to face off against the man who he will soon go to war with.
“I’m excited for it man, I see the crowd booing and I’m going to turn those boos into tears,” Muhammed said.
Meanwhile, Rakhmonov said: “Get ready, no more injuries and we will find out who is better man”.
The Kazakh fighter had one more takedown than his opponent on Sunday, and also had five less significant strikes.
However, he was able to dominate when it came to control time, having 11:41 minutes as opposed to Garry’s 2:32.
The loss for Garry marks the first of his MMA career, having been 15-0 coming into this bout.
LUQUE’S FIRST ROUND STUNNER
Vicente Luque has delivered a stunning first round submission victory, recording the fastest anaconda choke in UFC history on Themba Gorimbo.
The fight was over in only 52 seconds, with the previous recording being held by Yoshiyuki Yoshida.
Luque caught Gorimbo with a brutal punch, and on the way down managed to secure the submission which left his opponent limp on the canvas.
Luque’s record now sits at 22-10-1 and Joe Rogan labelled the victory a “real statement”.
“I’m back, I am back to finish everybody. Guys have counted me out but I’ve never been out, I am back,” Luque said.
“This is what I do, I finish people. I’m second in finishes in the welterweight division, and I want to be one.”
The Brazilian then called out former champion Jorge Masvidal for a potential fight upon his UFC comeback.
FEATHERWEIGHT CONTENDER’S STATEMENT WIN
Movsar Evloev has put himself in the frame for a potential featherweight title bout against reigning champion Ilia Topuria with a win over former champ Aljamain Sterling.
Their fight was a masterclass in wrestling, with momentum seesawing between the fighters but ultimately the Russian came over victorious.
Joe Rogan labelled Evloev one of the “most exciting” fighters in the division, moving to a 19-0 MMA record after a “gruelling fight”.
“Who knows?” Evloev said when asked if he is ready for a shot at the title.
“Like you said, former champion and big wrestling guy.”
NZECHUKWU’S HEAVYWEIGHT BLOW
Kennedy Nzechukwu has delivered a booming right hand knockout, dropping his opponent Lukasz Brzeski in the first round in the first early prelims bout.
The Polish heavyweight, nicknamed “The Bull” hit the deck and was met with a barrage of strikes from Nzechukwu before the referee stopped the fight.
“That is an African savage ladies and gentlemen,” Jon Anik said.
The win marked Nzechukwu’s second victory inside six weeks, taking him to an 8-5 record in the UFC, with recent wins against Chris Barnett and Devin Clark.
Across his overall MMA career (13-5), Nzechukwu now has 10 wins by knockout and only a single submission victory.
The first round finish was also the fourth time in his career his opponents hasn’t reached the second round.
WHAT TIME DOES UFC 310 START?
The action gets underway with the early prelims at 10am before the preliminary card begins at 12pm. The main card is scheduled for 2pm with the main event expected at around 4.30pm.
UFC 310 FULL FIGHT CARD
Main card
Alexandre Pantoja (c) defeats Kai Asakura via round two submission (rear naked choke) — flyweight title
Shavkat Rakhmonov defeats Ian Machado Garry by unanimous decision (48-47, 48-47, 48-47) — welterweights
Ciryl Gane defeats Alexander Volkov via split decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28) — heavyweights
Bryce Mitchell defeats Kron Gracie via round three TKO — featherweights
Dooho Choi defeats Nate Landwehr via round three TKO - featherweights
Prelims
Dominick Reyes defeats Anthony Smith via round two TKO — light heavyweights
Vicente Luque defeats Themba Gorimbo via round one submission (anaconda choke) — welterweights
Movsar Evloev defeats Aljamain Sterling by unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28) — featherweights
Bryan Battle defeats Randy Brown by split decision (29-28, 29-28, 28-29) — welterweights
Early prelims
Eryk Anders defeats Chris Weidman via second round TKO — catchweight
Josh Van defeats Cody Durden via unanimous decision (29-28, 30-26, 30-27) — flyweights
Michael Chiesa defeats Max Griffin via third round submission (rear naked choke) — welterweights
Chase Hooper defeats Clay Guida via first round submission (armbar) — lightweights
Kennedy Nzechukwu defeats Lukasz Brzeski by first round TKO — heavyweights
Originally published as ‘I got a win, but I’m not happy’: UFC 310 rocked by farcical decision
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