Chael Sonnen questions Ciryl Gane being the betting favorite over Alexander Volkov in UFC 310 fight: "Every athlete wants to be an actor"
Chael Sonnen disagrees with the fact that Ciryl Gane opened as a betting favorite in his upcoming clash against Alexander Volkov at UFC 310. Sonnen alluded that Gane let go of some great opportunities for an acting role while Volkov is on an impressive MMA run of his own.
Gane is set to lock horns with Volkov in a rematch at UFC 310 this weekend. The heavyweight contest will take place at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada. Even though Gane had not been active for a year, the Frenchman was the favorite and Volkov was the underdog, according to the betting website DraftKings.
In a video posted on his YouTube channel, Sonnen expressed his thoughts on the Gane vs. Volkov matchup. The UFC Hall of Famer said:
''I don’t mean to be negative towards Ciryl, but I will share with you: Nobody gets better at this sport by not doing it, and Ciryl passed up on very big opportunities to go and film a movie that nobody’s ever heard of and most likely will never see.''
Sonnen added:
''But you can’t ever get around that. Every actor wants to be an athlete and every athlete wants to be an actor. There’s no way to ever work that out. So now Ciryl’s going to come in against largely a mirror image of himself.” [H/t: MMA Junkie]
Check out the full video below:
In his recent octagon outing in September last year, Gane took on Serghei Spivac, and secured a TKO victory in the second round. Meanwhile, Volkov is currently on a four-fight winning streak, with his most recent victory coming by unanimous decision against Sergei Pavlovich at UFC Saudi Arabia.
Ciryl Gane opens up on his loss against Jon Jones at UFC 285
Ciryl Gane discussed his loss against Jon Jones at UFC 285 last year. Gane stated that he felt something was off with him as he couldn't perform to his full potential.
During a recent UFC 310 countdown episode, Gane said:
''When I look back at it, it was obvious that I was not there, It represented exactly how I felt on the day of the fight. It was a total misunderstanding of what was happening. I don’t recognize myself there. It’s something I’ve never done in my life. I’ve never fought that way before. My distance management, my movement, the alertness that I love to show – I had none of that.''
Check out Ciryl Gane's comments below (via Championship Rounds' X post):