“Embodiment of part time fighter” – New STUNNING detail from Alexander Volkov’s camp has fans throwing shade on Ciryl Gane for ducking top competition

Ciryl Gane refusing to fight top five in the heavyweight division has caused many problems.

“Embodiment of part time fighter” – New STUNNING detail from Alexander Volkov’s camp has fans throwing shade on Ciryl Gane for ducking top competition

Ciryl Gane, Alexander Volkov and Sergei Pavlovich (Source: IMAGO/Instagram)

Sergei Pavlovich and Alexander Volkov are not up to a good start in their build-up. The duo will face each other on the UFC Fight Night: Whittaker vs. Chimaev Saudi Arabia’s first non-numbered card. Pavlovich almost fought Ciryl Gane. However, the reports about the fight have confused everyone, to say the least.

First, there was the wrinkle of both Pavlovich and Volkov not knowing or being contractually in a bind to fight each other. This is very akin to Dustin Poirier revealing his fight is off due to a contractual snafu. Concurrently, now Alexander Volkov’s coach, Taras Kiyashko, revealed that Pavlovich was set to fight Ciryl Gane at UFC Paris.

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Barring Sergei Pavlovich’s arrangement, Jailton Almeida had agreed upon a big heavyweight showdown with Volkov at UFC 302. The UFC tried to make the Gane vs. Pavlovich at UFC Saudi Arabia. Gane only wanted to fight in Paris. This led to the booking of Volkov vs. Pavlovich.

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Volkov is on a 3-win streak after defeating Tai Tuivasa by second-round submission at UFC 293. Sergei Pavlovich, not long ago, was contending for the interim title. Hence, the winner of Pavlovich vs. Volkov could fight someone else in a No. 1 contender fight. However, where does that leave Ciryl Gane?

Fight fans react to rumors of Ciryl Gane’s supposed bout with Sergei Pavlovich

Khamzat Chimaev and Robert Whittaker will headline the UFC Saudi Arabia event. However, Ciryl Gane and Sergei Pavlovich almost fought in the co-main event. Gane’s reluctance to fight high-level has received backlash from MMA fans.

Ciryl Gane's refusal to fight Sergei Pavlovich claims the coach of Alexander Volkov
Ciryl Gane (Image via Imago)

Tom Aspinall and Curtis Blaydes have accused Gane of ducking them in the past. Moreover, Jailton Almeida issued a challenge to Gane multiple times. During all these callouts, Gane chose to stay silent and did not entertain a fight against them. With the UFC Paris event approaching, he might fight someone like Marcin Tybura or Jairzinho Rozenstruik who are not top five in the division.

Turning down the Pavlovich fight offer has riled up the fans. They accused Gane of being a part-time fighter and ducking high-level competition. Here’s how they have reacted:

https://twitter.com/elmoferrels/status/1775630994307235997?s=20

One fan wrote, “Gane is the embodiment of a part-time fighter.” However, few have alluded that the 12-2-0 heavyweight has already emerged as the victor at UFC Fight Night: Gane vs. Volkov, in 2021. Hence, he does not need to duck Alexander Volkov.

With the current setup, more within the MMA community have even prompted Gane to face Almeida, or even Tom Aspinall next. With the Brit having the go-ahead to defend his interim title in the meantime, this might just turn out to be the case.

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