Two heavyweights enter the octagon as Alexander Volkov tries to put an end to Ciryl Gane’s momentum on June 26 at Las Vegas, Nevada. The French fighter recently improved his undefeated record to 8-0 following a unanimous decision over Jairzinho Rozenstruik several months ago to kickstart his year. The 31-year-old secured four straight victories to earn himself a place in the top 5 and a shot at taking on one of the most prolific fighters in the league.

Meanwhile, Volkov recovered well after his decision loss to Curtis Blaydes last summer and delivered two huge wins over Walt Harris and Alistair Overeem. As of this writing, the Russian now holds a 7-2 record and is gunning for a second championship opportunity.

Let’s take a better look at the event and go over what each fighter has to bring to the table. Nitrobetting puts together key stats and points of Ciryl Gane and Alexander Volkov, together with the latest UFC odds, betting trends, and our very own expert betting predictions. Don’t forget to check out the rest of MMA odds and lines at our online crypto sportsbook.

UFC Vegas 30 Event Info

• When: Saturday, June 26, 2021, 7:10 PM ET (Main Card)
• Where: UFC Apex, Las Vegas, Nevada
• TV: ESPN+, BTSport1
• Live Stream: UFC Fight Pass

READ MORE: Poirier vs. McGregor 3 UFC 264 Odds and Preview

UFC Vegas 30 Main Card Odds

Gane vs. Volkov Preview

Ciryl Gane

• MMA Record: 8-0

Gane is a relatively new name in the UFC, being first introduced in 2019. He holds a 3-0 record in the UFC and earned another five before entering the franchise. In his professional career, he won 6 fights with stoppages, including three knockouts and three stoppages. Since his first fight, ‘Bon Gamin’ shook the trees with back-to-back submission victories despite being a more popular kickboxer.

He is impressive on his feet and can swiftly move around the octagon like a middleweight. More than that, Gane is an active fighter, averaging 5.04 significant strikes per minute while taking only 1.85. In all five UFC bouts, Gane has outstruck his opponents in every single one of them.

In the takedown department, Cyril Gane scores a respectable 1.13 takedowns per 15 minutes, but he shines best when he’s on his feet. He received flak after his win against Rozenstruik for not getting into more fistfights, but rather playing things safe and landing punches from a distance. In his last three contests, Gane finished two via unanimous decision and one via knockout.

Alexander Volkov

• MMA Record: 33-8-0

On paper, Volkov gets the three-inch height advantage on his opponent, while Gane gets an inch of reach advantage. The Russian is a former M-1 competitor and a Bellator heavyweight. He has some solid credentials under his belt and almost made his way to UFC gold before colliding with Derrick Lewis and Curtis Blaydes. Volkov boasts punching power as well. His 33-8 record lists down 22 knockout wins, while half of his losses include two knockouts and two submissions. Drago is a boxer through and through, though we’ve seen him perform takedowns since his introduction to the UFC. The 32-year-old averages 4.88 significant strikes per minute while taking 2.48. Volkov is the more aggressive fighter of the two, and he can use this to his advantage, since Gane is known to be more stationary and plants his foot while waiting to land heavy punches. Moreover, he significantly improved his kicks and could prove an avenue to slow down his opponent’s movements. But ultimately, we expect Volkov to keep abusing his boxing skills

Gane vs. Volkov UFC Vegas 30 Betting Trends

• Gane is 5-0 in his last 5 fights.
• Gane won 2 in 2 rounds or earlier in his last 5 fights.
• Gane holds a perfect Takedown Defense while Volkov is at 66%.
• Volkov is 3-2 in his last 5 fights.
• In Volkov’s last 5 fights, he won 2 via knockout in the second round.
• Volkov records better Significant Striking Accuracy at 59% while Gane falls behind at 55%.

UFC Vegas 30 Expert Betting Predictions

Ciryl Gane only has a single fight listed down in 2020 and scored a knockout victory. Since then, he stayed in camp and prepared for a more lively 2021 with this behind his second fight of the year and comes in as the favorite. Meanwhile, Alexander Volkov charges hard into the bout with two knockouts to his name. Although it took him over two years to score a knockout victory, he bounced back and documented two before Saturday’s fight. In the final analysis, we expect a rush of hard punches coming from both sides, with little to no room in between the two heavyweights.

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This is just one of the many sports betting guides that you can read here at Nitrobetting news. Stay tuned for more MMA previews and articles, and don’t forget to check out the latest MMA betting odds on our crypto sportsbook.