UFC Vegas 30 head-to-head stats: Gane vs. Volkov could be a technical striking battle

Ciryl Gane has climbed the UFC heavyweight rankings with quickness. Making his UFC debut in his fourth professional MMA contest, the French fighter submitted Raphael Pessoa in the first round. Now, at 8-0, with six stoppage wins, Gane faces former Bellator and M-1 Global heavyweight champion Alexander Volkov in the main event of Saturday’s UFC Vegas 30 fight card. Gane is ranked No. 3 in the official UFC heavyweight rankings. His much more experienced opponent comes in at No. 5.

This is by far the biggest test of Gane’s young MMA career. Volkov, a pro since 2009 has 41 MMA bouts to his name. Volkov, who is 32, is only one year older than his opponent.

Gane not only has to get past Volkov if he wants to take a step toward a future UFC heavyweight title fight, but he’ll also have to pass the Dana White test. Gane did not impress the UFC president with his decision win over Jairzinho Rozenstruik in February.

Everybody’s talking about Gane being this big contender, but look what Francis Ngannou did to Rozenstruik,” White told Yahoo Sports after the event. “This was his coming out party and his chance to show the world who he is. He won, but let’s leave it at that. He won.”

That’s not exactly a ringing endorsement.

Statistically, Gane has the tools to give any heavyweight a run. Gane lands 5.04 significant strikes per minute, but absorbs only 1.85 for a striking differential of 3.19. As for Volkov, he lands at a rate of 4.88 significant strikes per minute and absorbs 2.48, for a differential of 2.67. With numbers like those, fans could be in for a technical and patient striking battle on Saturday night.

Check below for how Gane and Volkov matchup in other important statistics.