UFC 310 is this weekend on Saturday, and here’s what you should know if you plan to watch it.
Main Card Fights
First of all, the headliner was originally a Welterweight Title fight between the current Welterweight Champ Belal Muhammad, an undefeated phenomenon Shavkat Rakhmonov, who holds 18 wins and 0 losses, with all his wins by stoppage (KO/TKO or Submission). The bout was cancelled due to Belal suffering a toe injury, and replacing him in the fight is the also undefeated Ian Machado Garry, who holds a record of 15 wins and 0 losses. Ian is also ranked #7 and had a fight scheduled for December 14 in Tampa against Welterweight Joaquin Buckley who is ranked #9. In this electric co-main event someone’s 0 has gotta go, and we’ll see who gets the job done Saturday. Due to the fight not being a title fight though, the bout was moved to the co-main, with the co-main becoming the new main event.
The new main event is a Flyweight Title fight between current Flyweight Champ Alexandre Pantoja and former Rizin champ and newly signed UFC Flyweight Kai Asukura. Alexandre Pantoja looks to defend his title, where Kai Asukura looks to add Alexandre Pantoja to his win column and add the UFC title to his legacy.
Now, below the co-main we have what will likely be a Heavyweight #1 contender bout and a rematch between slick strikers Ciryl Gane and Alexander Volkov. Ciryl Gane being the former being the former Interim Heavyweight champ challenged Francis Ngannou in 2022 at UFC 270 unite the Heavyweight title, but after falling short he got an immediate shot at the vacant title, facing Jon Jones at UFC 285, where Jon Jones submitted Ciryl Gane in the 1st round. Now Ciryl looks to challenge for the title a third time where he plans to not fall short. First though, Ciryl will have to get through Alexander Volkov, the former Strikeforce Heavyweight champion who recently beat Sergei Pavlovich by a truly Unanimous Decision. This is for sure one to not miss, and will likely determine who will face the Heavyweight champ, whether it’s Tom Aspinall or Jon Jones.
In the second bout of the Main card two Jiu-Jitsu specialists Bryce Mitchell and Kron Gracie will face off in a Featherweight bout. Bryce Mitchell is looking to claim a win after his absolutely brutal KO loss to Josh Emmett at UFC 296, hoping to defeat Kron Gracie. Kron Gracie is looking to return to action after losing to Charles Jourdain at UFC 288. Kron is the only active Gracie right now in the UFC, and looks to extend the legendary legacy of the Gracie family even further.
The fight to start the main card off is Nate Landwehr and Choi Doo-Ho in also a Featherweight bout. Nate is looking to pick up a second win the year of 2024 against Choi Doo-Ho who participated in an all time great fight against the legend Cub Swanson.
Fight Breakdown
In the main event, we have Alexandre Pantoja who holds a record of 28-5-0 (Win-Loss-Draw), with 8 wins by KO/TKO, 10 wins by Submission, and 10 wins by Decision. His 5 losses all came by way of Decision, being dropped only once in the UFC by the former Flyweight champ Deiveson Figueiredo. Pantoja beat the former champ Brandon Moreno at UFC 290 by Split Decision, then has defended his title twice, once at UFC 296 where he beat Brandon Royval by Unanimous Decision, and UFC 301 by beating Steve Erceg by Unanimous Decision. His opponent, Kai Asakura, is the former Rizin Flyweight champ, who is making his debut against Pantoja. He holds a record of 21-4-0 with 13 wins by KO/TKO, 3 wins by Submission, and 5 wins by Decision. His 4 losses consist of 3 losses by KO/TKO, and 1 loss by Decision. Both fighters are good on the feet, and I believe the striking will be competitive, but I would give the edge to Kai Asakura. When the fight gets to the grappling though, I believe Alexandre Pantoja has a big advantage in both the Wrestling and Jiu-Jitsu. I see this fight probably starting with the striking, since every fight starts on the feet, where they will get a feel for each other. Either late into round 1 or early into round 2 I think Pantoja will start to use his grappling to control the fight. My prediction is Either a late KO/TKO for Pantoja or a Decision for Pantoja.
The co-main between Shavkat Rakhmonov and Ian Machado Garry. Shavkat holds a record of 18-0-0, with 8 wins by KO/TKO and 10 wins by Submission. His last three fights have all ended by Submission, with all three being notable names, consisting of Neil Magny, Geoff Neal, and Stephen Thompson. Ian Machado Garry holds a record of 15-0-0, with 7 wins by KO/TKO, 1 win by Submission, and 7 wins by Decision. His last 3 consist of Neil Magny who he beat by Unanimous Decision, Geoff Neal who he beat by Split Decision, and Michael “Venom” Page who he beat by Unanimous Decision. This fight I think is closer than a lot of people want to think it is. Shavkat is a well rounded fighter, but I think Ian Garry will have a slight advantage on the feet, but I could see Shavkat winning on the feet too, but I strongly believe Ian will experience trouble with Shavkat’s jab. When we get to the grappling, I see Shavkat dominating Ian, but Ian does have a fighting chance. Not a great chance in the grappling though, the way I see it. I think that Shavkat’s wrestling and Jiu-Jitsu will easily overwhelm Ian. My prediction for the co-main is a submission in the second or third round for Shavkat Rakhmonov.
Ciryl Gane vs Alexander Volkov is a close one. They have fought before in 2021 where Ciryl Gane emerged victorious against Alexander Volkov by Unanimous Decision, but this isn’t the same Alexander Volkov that fought Ciryl Gane, and this isn’t the same Ciryl Gane that fought Alexander Volkov. Ciryl is coming off two losses for the Heavyweight title, putting his record at 12-2-0, 6 wins by KO/TKO, 3 wins by Submission, and 3 wins by Decision. Those two losses have to leave a negative mark on a fighter’s mentality, though. Alexander Volkov is riding on a 4 fight winning streak, putting his record at 38-10-0, 24 wins by KO/TKO, 4 wins by Submission, and 10 wins by Decision. In his most recent win he defeated Sergei Pavlovich, who fought for the UFC Heavyweight Interim title beforehand, in a fight that Alexander dominated, leaving Sergei tired and bleeding from his nose that led to a Unanimous decision. Ciryl can find some clarity that he has beaten Alexander before, but this time will be much harder. The stand-up striking will be razor thin as both are world class Kickboxers, but if by chance the fight gets to the grappling, I’d give the edge to Alexander Volkov. Alexander Volkov has had much more time to learn to grapple and submit his opponent, which has done before, whereas Ciryl hasn’t had as much time and even though he has a grappling presence, but I think Alexander’s presence is stronger. This time around, my prediction is that Alexander Volkov will beat Ciryl in a closely contested bout in either a Unanimous or Split Decision for Volkov.
Bryce Mitchell versus Kron Gracie is next up. In this fight I feel Kron Gracie is heavily outgunned here. Bryce Mitchell is a Jiu-Jitsu fighter with a record of 16-3-0, 9 wins by Submission, and 7 wins by Decision, but he can strike as well, best displayed when he knocked down Edson Barboza at UFC 272, a fight that he completely dominated and won by Unanimous Decision. Kron Gracie is a Gracie fighter, which means he’s a Jiu-Jitsu wizard, as every Gracie before him. With a record of 5-2-0, and all 5 of his wins by Submission, you cannot count him completely out, but Kron has a big hole in his game, which is his striking. My prediction is that Bryce Mitchell will beat Kron down with his striking, either on the feet or on the ground and submit Kron in round 1.
The first fight on the main card is Nate Landwehr vs Choi Doo-Ho. Nate Landwehr holds a record of 18-5-0, with 9 wins by KO/TKO, 2 wins by Submission, and 7 wins by Decision. Choi Doo-Ho holds a record of 15-4-1, with 12 wins by KO/TKO, 1 win by Submission, and 2 wins by Decision. This fight will more than likely be mostly contested in the striking, but Nate likes to mix in takedowns with his striking, but it seems that knees are open for business for Choi. Both of Nate’s two KO losses came from knees, one a knee from the clinch, and one a flying knee when Nate went to engage into the clich. If Choi can time a knee right, either on a takedown or in the clinch, I think he could win, but Nate is always dangerous, and Choi has been knocked out before as well. Still, I feel that Nate will be too much for Choi, with his striking and grappling. My prediction is that Nate Landwehr will win by late KO/TKO or a Unanimous Decision.
If you are planning to watch UFC 310, you can do so by purchasing the UFC 310 main card at 10pm ET/7pm PT on ESPN+ PPV for $79.99. You can also go to any Buffalo Wild Wings to watch the PPV for free as they play the PPV’s on the TV’s inside the restaurant.
