Alexander Volkov Blasts Judges for 'Bulls--t Decision' in Controversial UFC 310 Defeat

Alexander Volkov isn’t sure what the cageside judges were seeing during his rematch with Ciryl Gane at UFC 310.

Volkov dropped a controversial split-decision to Gane in their featured heavyweight clash at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas on Saturday night. While their first meeting in June 2021 was a clear-cut win for the Frenchman, Volkov appeared to make the necessary adjustments the second time around. When the final verdict was announced, even Gane appeared perplexed by the ruling, as he tried to exit the Octagon without even giving a post-fight interview.

“I saw the eyes of his team, and they didn’t expect this,” Volkov said during his post-fight media scrum (video via MMAjunkie.com). “They didn’t expect the decision, and he was upset, so my respect to Ciryl Gane. He wasn’t like a guy who just walked out from the cage after the decision, because he didn’t feel this, too. Nothing bad to my opponent, I just don’t accept with the commission. I can’t agree with this.”

According to the official scorecards released by the UFC, judges Adalaide Byrd and Junichiro Kamijo both scored the first two rounds in favor of Gane, which ultimately resulted in “Bon Gamin” winning via split decision. Meanwhile, Eric Colon submitted a 29-28 tally for Volkov.

“It was a bulls--t decision, for sure,” Volkov said. “I don’t know what we’re going to do with the decision. I’m absolutely sure that I won the fight. I did much more than Gane in all the fight. I do not know who scored this fight with him, who are the judges, how they decide this... I don’t see any damage from him to me and I don’t understand why he won the fight.”

The 36-year-old Volkov had won his last four UFC outings prior to Saturday night, including a victory over former interim title challenger Sergei Pavlovich this past June. The disappointing outcome at UFC 310 slowed the momentum of the former Bellator and M-1 Global champion, but he could find some solace in the fact that UFC CEO Dana White was in his corner. The two were seen speaking shortly after Volkov exited the Octagon.

“He said —sorry for my English —I was ‘f—ed up with the judges,’ kind of this,” Volkov said. “I appreciated to the bosses of UFC, they saw everything with his own eyes and they have a similar opinion, but they can’t influence the commission...”