Alexander Volkov is not buying the UFC White House interim heavyweight title fight as a legitimate championship matchup, and he is equally confused about where his own career stands within the promotion despite a winning streak he views as one of the most overlooked in the division.
Speaking with MMA Fighting, Volkov addressed both the Pereira and Gane booking and his own frustrations with UFC policy in the same breath.
“It doesn’t matter who wins. UFC won with this fight. And it will be for sure not like a boring fight, but it’s not true title fight. It’s more like a promotional or media fight. Alex Pereira, he just lost to the guy, then he beats him with just broken rib, and now he want to go one category up, where he never fought, and they give him title shot? Like, in logic, it doesn’t have any sense. It’s just marketing. It’s nothing more about how many followers and how many fans he have. Maybe it’s good for UFC, maybe more people will watching this fight, maybe this they will do this White House card more loud, but it’s nothing about like a real champ.”
The frustration extends to how Volkov’s own situation has been handled. He fought Jailton Almeida while Gane received an Aspinall title shot, and a subsequent no-contest resulted from eye pokes that sent the champion to double eye surgery.
Many observers believe Volkov was also robbed in his split-decision loss to Gane at UFC 310 in December 2024, a view Dana White has reportedly shared. Despite that, Gane remains in the picture, and Volkov finds himself fighting Waldo Cortes-Acosta on the UFC 328 main card this Saturday without clarity on what a win would mean for his future.
“Honestly, I don’t understand at all policy in the UFC about me because sometimes I hear different things about my future in UFC.”
A victory over Cortes-Acosta this weekend would extend what Volkov considers a six-fight winning streak, given his dispute over the Gane result.