Alexander Volkov delivers honest prediction on Tom Aspinall, Ciryl Gane fight

Alexander Volkov has predicted the Tom Aspinall and Ciryl Gane fight as '50-50' at the UFC 321 main event later this month.

Undisputed heavyweight champion Aspinall is set to make the first defence of his title against France's Gane in Abu Dhabi on October 25.

The Englishman will be fighting after a gap of 14 months, while this is Gane's third title shot at the UFC heavyweight title, having previously failed in attempts against Francis Ngannou and Jon Jones.

Volkov will also fight on the same card headlined by Aspinall and Gane. Russian UFC fighter will take on Jailton Almeida in a heavyweight clash on the main card.

Speaking to MMA Junkie, Volkov shared his experience against both fighters and predicted the fight as 50-50.

"Both of them are good, and Ciryl Gane, he's really good with his movement, with his legs and everything. He's not so bad at grappling now. He started working a lot on his grappling and his ground skills, so I think it's 50-50," Volkov said.

The Russian reflected on his experience of sharing the Octagon with both the fighters and said that Tom Aspinall looks better, but in the fight it could go any way.

"It depends how the fight starts, how both of them will be prepared for this fight. I saw that Gane will be motivated a lot for this fight to get the belt. It's 50-50, but on paper, when I fought both of them, Tom Aspinall looks better. But in the fight, it could go any way," Volkov added.

Volkov fought Aspinall back in 2022 and Gane in December 2024 and lost both fights.