With the most recent event in the books, the combat sports world turns its attention to UFC Vegas 30. The event is scheduled to take place at the Apex in Las Vegas, Nevada on Saturday, June 26. The night will be headlined by a heavyweight tilt between the undefeated Ciryl Gane and former Bellator Heavyweight World Champion Alexander Volkov. Considering how Gane (No. 3) and Volkov (No. 5) are two of the top heavyweight fighters in the UFC, don’t be surprised if this fight ends up having future title match implications.
Nevertheless, Bovada has provided odds for the Gane-Volkov bout. Continue reading to see who’s being favored at UFC Vegas 30.
UFC Vegas 30 Odds: Ciryl Gane (8-0-0) vs Alexander Volkov (33-8-0)
Odds via Bovada as of Monday, June 21
- Ciryl Gane (-175) vs Alexander Volkov (+145)
Check Bovada.lv as the week goes on for more markets, include over/under and prop bets.
Gane Favored Entering the Fight
At -175, Gane Bovada’s slight favorite entering his fight against Volkov at UFC Vegas 30. The fact of the matter is that it’s hard to bet against a fighter who’s undefeated. Not only that, but Gane is quite the versatile fighter. Of his eight professional MMA victories, three have come by TKO, three by submission and two by decision. He’s also riding some pretty fresh momentum as he defeated Jairzinho Rozenstruik by unanimous decision this past February in the main event of UFC Vegas 20. Now, Gane is one of the sport’s fastest rising stars.
Gane is a striking machine, landing an impressive 5.04 significant strikes per minute on 55% accuracy, which has a lot of that has to do with his extensive Muay Thai background. He’s also really good at avoiding contact when need be, judging by his 1.85 significant strikes absorbed per minute rating and his 69% strike defense. While Volkov isn’t a takedown master, Gane can hold his own if the situation arrives at UFC Vegas 30. The La Roche-sur-Yon, France native has a perfect 100% takedown defense. Besides, even if he’s three inches shorter than his opponent, he does have a one-inch reach advantage on Volkov. All in all, it’s just hard to find many holes in Gane’s game, which bodes well for his chances this weekend.
Can Volkov Upset Gane?
While Volkov has won three of his last four fights, which includes a TKO victory over Alistair Overeem at UFC Vegas 18, he’s still the +145 underdog entering his bout at UFC Vegas 30. One thing that Volkov has going for him is that he’s won his two most recent fights by TKO. He’s also currently averaging 4.88 significant strikes landed per minute on 59% accuracy, which gives you an idea as to how he fights. Overall, 22 of Volkov’s 33 career victories have come by KO or TKO, meaning that it’ll be interesting to see how he deals with Gane’s impressive striking defense come Saturday.
An advantage that Volkov does have over Gane is the fact that he’s a former heavyweight champion. Sure, it may not have been in UFC, but the 32-year-old Russian fighter did win the Bellator Heavyweight World Championship between 2012 and 2013. He didn’t have any successful defense, but sometimes the experience is enough to give a fighter a slight edge. Since joining UFC, Volkov has been awarded Performance of the Night twice and Fight of the Night once. Even if Gane may have a slight striking advantage, look for Volkov to use his experience to give him a fair fighting chance.
