Undefeated heavyweight Ciryl Gane will get a big challenge on Saturday night, facing veteran competitor Alexander Volkov in what could be a five-round bout. The fight headlines a UFC “Fight Night” card that is set to take place at the UFC APEX in Las Vegas, Nevada, USA.
Follow along throughout the evening for live updates on the show.
A full preview of the card can be read here.
Quick Results:
Preliminary Card (1:00PM EDT / 10:00AM PDT) (ESPN+ / UFC Fight Pass Canada)
Bout 1: Damir Hadzovic def. Yancy Medeiros via Decision, Unanimous
Bout 2: Charles Rosa defs. Justin Jaynes via Decision, Split
Bout 3: Julia Avila def. Julija Stoliarenko via Submission, Rear Naked Choke (RD 3, 4:19)
Bout 4: Marcin Prachnio def. Ike Villanueva via TKO, Strikes (RD 2, 0:56)
Bout 5: Jeremiah Wells def. Warlley Alves via TKO, Strikes (RD 2, 0:30)
Bout 6: Shavkat Rakhmonov def. Michel Prazeres via Submission, Rear Naked Choke (RD 2, 2:10)
Bout 7: Kennedy Nzechukwu def. Danilo Marques via TKO, Strikes (RD 3, 0:20)
Main Card (4:00PM EDT / 1:00PM PDT) (ESPN+ / UFC Fight Pass Canada)
Bout 8: Renato Moicano def. Jai Herbert via Submission, Rear Naked Choke (RD 2, 4:34)
Bout 9: Tim Means def. Nicolas Dalby via Decision, Unanimous
Bout 10: Andre Fili vs. Daniel Pineda via No Contest, Accidental Eye Poke (RD 2, 0:46)
Bout 11: Timur Valiev def. Raoni Barcelos via Decision, Majority
Bout 12: Tanner Boser def. Ovince St. Preux via TKO, Strikes (RD 2, 2:31)
Bout 13: Ciryl Gane def. Alexander Volkov via Decision, Unanimous
Live Coverage:
Bout 13: Ciryl Gane (8-0) vs. Alexander Volkov (33-8) (Heavyweight)
Gane Gets Decision Nod, Adds Volkov To Undefeated Winning Streak
Ciryl Gane added another big win to his career on Saturday night, using his kickboxing skills to score a unanimous decision victory over Alexander Volkov (50-45, 50-45 & 49-46).
The pure five-round striking battle saw both fighters work a slow, methodical pace for 25 minutes. Gane was frequent with pumping out his jab throughout, along with other strikes he connected with.
Gane entered Saturday night with an undefeated pro record of eight wins. Among those victories was five wins in the UFC, including a five-round decision victory over Jairzinho Rozenstruick earlier this year.
The victory on Saturday night was the biggest of Gane’s career thus far. Volkov has more experience than any of his previous opponents and is a big name in the division at the moment.
Gane entered Saturday night ranked third in the heavyweight division. Sitting above him with former champ Stipe Miocic and rumored soon-to-be title challenger Derrick Lewis.
The undefeated heavyweight hinted at a title fight in his post-fight interview. “I’m ready,” said Gane when asked about what’s next for him.
Volkov entered Saturday’s main event after scoring two stoppage victories recently. This 32-year-old veteran finished Alistair Overeem in the main event of a card in February, stopping him in the second round with strikes.
Bout 12: Ovince St. Preux (25-15) vs. Tanner Boser (19-8-1) (Heavyweight)
St. Preux Takes Finish Loss To Boser In Move Up To Heavyweight
Tanner Boser snapped a two-fight skid in the co-main event, catching Ovince St. Preux in the second round with strikes to finish their bout. Boser dropped St. Preux with a right-and-left hand combination, following up punches on the ground to make the referee end the fight.
Boser had led the striking exchanges earlier in the fight, throwing first and with a higher volume. St. Preux’s best moment was earlier in the second round, as he scored a takedown on Boser and attempted a submission.
St. Preux was making the temporary move to heavyweight after light heavyweight opponent Maxim Grishin had to be withdrawn from a booking due to visa issues.
The fight was a quick turnaround for Boser, as he lost a split decision to Ilir Latifi earlier this month.
St. Preux was finished in his previous fight as well, being stopped in 2020 by Jamahal Hill.
Bout 11: Raoni Barcelos (16-1) vs. Timur Valiev (17-2) (Bantamweight)
Volume Leads Valiev To A Win
The high volume of strikes by Timur Valiev earned him a majority decision over Raoni Barcelos on Saturday (28-28, 29-28 & 29-28). The fight handed Barcelos his first loss since joining the UFC.
Valiev kept a fast pace of strikes throughout, allowing him to snag rounds on scorecards.
Valiev was nearly stopped late in the second round after being knocked down twice. The first major shot from Barcelos was a left hook that sent Valiev to the canvas. Barcelos dropped him again while he was on his way up, connecting with an uppercut. Valiev was able to endure the round and regain control in the next frame.
Barcelos had a five-fight win streak in the UFC broken with the fight. Three of his wins in the UFC were stoppages since he joined the promotion in 2018.
Valiev earned his first UFC win earlier this year, defeating Martin Day on scorecards.
Bout 10: Andre Fili (21-8) vs. Daniel Pineda (27-14) (Featherweight)
Eye Poke Ends Near-Win For Fili In No Contest
A strong performance from Andre Fili against Daniel Pineda ended in a no contest in the second round after an accidental eye poke.
The eye poke came while Fili was shoving Pineda away following a striking exchange early in the second round. Pineda insisted that he could see out of his right eye, although an on-site doctor deemed him unfit to continue fighting.
The anticlimactic end to the fight came after what was looking to be a stellar showing for Fili.
Fili had Pineda in trouble throughout the first round, knocking him down numerous times with strikes.
He seemed disappointed after the fight but remained grateful for his career position overall.
“Even this isn’t the result I want but where else would you rather be,” said Fili in his post-fight interview.
Both fighters were attempting to come back from a recent loss.
Pineda was stopped in his last fight by Cub Swanson, who put him away in the second round of a fight with a combo of punches.
Fili’s previous appearance was a decision loss to Bryce Mitchell last year.
Bout 9: Nicolas Dalby (19-3-1) vs. Tim Means (31-12-1) (Welterweight)
Means Moves Win Streak To Trio
Tim Means used his wrestling to defeat Nicolas Dalby via unanimous decision on Saturday night (29-28, 29-28 & 29-28). Means took Dalby down numerous times in the fight, keeping him down for minutes at a time.
Dalby was able to connect with some strikes when on the feet, although it wasn’t enough to earn him a win.
Means, a UFC veteran of nearly a decade, is now on a three-fight winning streak. His previous wins were last year, scoring decision wins over Laureano Staropoli and Mike Perry.
Dalby was also coming off a win, having defeated Daniel Rodriguez late last year.
Bout 8: Renato Moicano (14-4-1) vs. Jai Herbert (10-2) (Lightweight)
Moicano Finishes Strong Fight With Choke
Renato Moicano finished a one-sided fight against Jai Herbert in the second round, submitting him with a rear naked choke.
Moicano applied the choke after hurting Herbert with a quick pace of ground and pound late in the second frame. The strikes could have won the fight for Moicano, as the referee warned Herbert to defend himself in the position.
Moicano’s finishing sequence came after a dominant near two-round performance, taking Herbert down many times and being able to keep him on his back.
Moicano was returning after being stopped late last year by Rafael Fiziev.
Herbert, a former Cage Warriors Lightweight Champion, has yet to win a fight since joining the UFC roster. His promotional debut was spoiled last year by Francisco Trinaldo, who stopped him with punches.
Bout 7: Danilo Marques (11-2) vs. Kennedy Nzechukwu (8-1) (Light Heavyweight)
Nzechukwu Makes Comeback For Third UFC Win
Kennedy Nzechukwu made scorecards useless in the third round of his fight against Danilo Marques, finishing him suddenly with a quick combination of punches.
Nzechukwu opened the final round with a flurry of left and right straights. The constant pace of strikes went unanswered by Marques, causing the referee to eventually end the bout.
Marques succeeded earlier in the fight with his grappling, presumably putting Nzechukwu behind on scorecards.
Marques mounted the back of Nzechuwu early in the fight, using that position to unload with hammerfist strikes. They remained in this position until the end of the round.
Marques took the back of Nzechukwu again in the second round, being able to get the fight to the ground this time. Nzechukwu escaped the position in the fourth minute of the round, allowing him to sore with some punches.
The grappling from Marques in the first and second rounds caused him to be significantly tired come the third round.
Nzechukwu now has three wins in the UFC. He scored a “Fight of the Night” win earlier this year, stopping Carlos Ulberg.
The fight on Saturday was Marques’ first loss since joining the UFC roster last year. He had last fought in February, submitting Mike Rodriguez with a rear naked choke.
Bout 6: Michel Prazeres (26-3) vs. Shavkat Rakhmonov (13-0) (Welterweight)
Rakhmonov Extends Undefeated Record With Submission Win
Shavkat Rakhmonov extended his undefeated record to 14 wins on the prelims, submitting Michel Prazeres in the second round with a rear naked choke.
The win came after one-and-a-half rounds of Rakhmonov showing his striking and grappling skills.
Rakhmonov a former M-1 Champion, won his UFC debut last year with a first-round guillotine choke victory over Alex Oliveira.
Prazeres was making his return to the cage after over two years outside of it. His last fight was in early 2019, where he lost a decision to Ismail Naurdiev. The loss snapped an eight-fight winning streak that he had at the time.
Bout 5: Warlley Alves (14-4) vs. Jeremiah Wells (8-2-1) (Welterweight)
Short-Notice UFC Newcomer Wells Earns Explosive Win
Former CFFC Welterweight Champion Jeremiah Wells made a splash in his UFC debut, stopping Warlley Alves in the second round with punches.
Wells first dropped Alves with a right hook early in the second round. He followed up with strikes from the back position of Alves that put him unconscious, ending their fight.
Wells got the UFC call-up to step in on short notice and replace Ramazan Emeev, who withdrew from a fight against Alves due to visa issues.
Wells had not fought in over a year, with his last performance being a submission win over Marco Smallman in 2019.
Alves was returning after stopping Mounir Lazzez within a round with strikes earlier this year.
Bout 4: Marcin Prachnio (14-5) vs. Ike Villanueva (18-11) (Light Heavyweight)
Prachnio Folds Villanueva With Body Kick
Marcin Prachnio scored a body shot to Ike Villanueva that shut him down in the second round, sounding an end to their back-and-forth light heavyweight battle on the feet.
Villanueva was head-hunting throughout the fight, while Prachnio threw a wider array of strikes. While landing to the head of Villanueva, Prachnio threw to the body and notably did visible damage to Villanueva with leg kicks too.
Prachnio has now won two straight fights in the UFC. The small win streak is a significant turnaround from his first three bouts in this promotion, which were all finish losses.
Villanueva was also returning after a win, having stopped Vinicius Moreira with strikes in January.
Bout 3: Julia Avila (8-2) vs. Julija Stoliarenko (9-4-1) (Bantamweight)
Avila Closes Out Strong Showing With Rear Naked Choke Win
Julia Avila capped off a strong performance against Julija Stoliarenko with a third-round rear naked choke victory on Saturday.
Avila was ahead in the fight earlier on as well, having hurt Stoliarenko with strikes and caused visible damage to her.
Avila got back to her winning ways after taking her first UFC loss last year to Sijara Eubanks. She now has a promotional record of three wins and one loss.
Avila was quite emotional after her win, mentioning that she was kicked out of her previous MMA gym and has recently opened her own.
Stoliarenko, a former Invicta FC Bantamweight Champion, has now lost two fights since joining the UFC. Her promotional debut was last year, where Yana Kunitskaya defeated her via unanimous decision.
Stoliarenko was first set to face Avila in March, although the fight was cancelled then due to Stoliarenko collapsing at the weigh-ins.
Bout 2: Charles Rosa (13-5) vs. Justin Jaynes (16-7) (Featherweight)
Rosa Takes Split Decision, Hands Jaynes Fourth UFC Loss
Charles Rosa continued his win streak on Saturday with a split decision victory over featherweight Justin Jaynes (30-27 Rosa, 29-28 Jaynes & 29-28 Rosa).
Jaynes started the fight strong by landing hard right hands on Rosa, clearly rocking him at points. Rosa picked up steam later in the round, closing the frame with a takedown.
Rosa had a strong second round, pounding away with punches while on the back of Jaynes for a large portion of the time.
Jaynes regained momentum in the final round, hurting Rosa with strikes on the feet. Jaynes then took the fight down, where he pursued an arm triangle choke. Rosa was able to escape the choke late in the fight and finish the round with some ground and pound.
Jaynes has now lost four straight bouts in the UFC. His previous bouts saw him all get finished within three rounds.
Rosa bounced back from a decision loss he took earlier this year to Darrick Minner.
Bout 1: Yancy Medeiros (15-7) vs. Damir Hadzovic (13-6) (Lightweight)
Hadzovic Outlasts Medeiros In Three-Round War
Damir Hadzovic returned to the win column after prevailing in an absolute war over Yancy Medeiros, defeating him via unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28 & 29-28).
Hadzovic had the faster-striking tempo through a hectic three-round fight against Medeiros. He came forward and hurt Medeiros numerous times with punches, backing him up against the cage but never knocking him down.
Hadzovic was also hurt at points, as Medeiros was able to answer back with damaging blows.
Medeiros scored a takedown in the final round, taking the back of Hadzovic with three minutes to go. A back-and-forth battle on the ground finished with a near victory for Medeiros, as he got a rear naked choke under the chin of Hadzovic and held on until the round expired.
The fight earned Hadzovic his first victory in three appearances, having lost his two prior bouts.
Medeiros is now on a four-fight losing streak in the UFC.
Medeiros and Hadzovic were first set to fight in May, although they were moved to this card after Hadzovic fell ill earlier this year.
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