UFC 310 may have been held late into the Las Vegas night, but there was a daylight robbery on the main card. This was as Ciryl Gane was controversially awarded a decision victory over Alexander Volkov.
The towering Russian dominated much of the fight, yet the judges gave the victory to Gane. As UFC fans analyse the result, Volkov himself has called for one judge to be requalified or removed.
Alexander Volkov Slams Controversial UFC 310 Decision, Calls for Judge Adalaide Byrd’s Removal
Typically, only the winners speak to the media after a UFC event, however, Alexander Volkov wasn’t going to let his robbery at UFC 310 go unnoticed.
“Hello everyone, I just want to say first that it was a b***** decision, for sure,”
“I don’t know what we’re going to do with the decision, but I am absolutely sure I won the fight.”
Nearly every UFC fan scoring the fight between Volkov and Ciryl Gane had it in the Russian’s favour, with ‘Verdict MMA’ calling it “officially the worst decision of 2024” citing a massive score differential of 1.04. Volkov continued speaking to the media and directed his criticism at Judge Adalaide Byrd who scored the fight 29-28 Gane;
“How can the guy who was less active and took more damage win? I don’t understand this,”
“This is the same judge who judges both boxing and MMA? I don’t understand. This state is the fighting capital of the world, and I don’t know what to say. How is it possible for one person to judge two different sports?”
Volkov has also questioned Byrd’s qualifications when he said;
“I don’t understand how someone not professionally trained in this sport can be allowed to judge it. Either requalify them or fire them.”
Byrd is no stranger to controversy, having faced backlash for her 118-110 scorecard in the Canelo Alvarez vs GGG boxing match. Volkov kept going saying;
“I don’t know if she works on her judging skills or just shows up because she likes the fights. Maybe she liked Ciryl Gane’s body more,”
“It’s the same in our sport. If you’re not fit to fight in the UFC, you get fired. It should be the same with judges. If you can’t do your job professionally, you shouldn’t do it.”
Alexander Volkov has mentioned he could appeal the decision with the NSAC, though such appeals are rarely succeed and are often more trouble than it is worth;
“We’ll definitely appeal, but I don’t think it’ll work. If they accept this judge’s scorecard, they just need to fire her, and then the decision can change.”
Volkov also shared what Dana White told him after the fight, saying that the UFC president had a heated conversation with hm next to the octagon.
Featured image credits to Embed From Getty Images
