Alexander Volkov will appeal decision, goes in on Adelaide Byrd after robbery, asks if MMA/Boxing judge "liked Ciryl Gane's body more"

Val Dewar

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Saturday night in Las Vegas was a night like any other for Adelaide Byrd as she sat cageside for yet another UFC pay-per-view to judge fights, but for Alexander Volkov it was the end of a five-fight winning streak that could have resulted in a title shot with one more win.

Byrd turned in a 29-28 scorecard in favor of France's star heavyweight Ciryl 'Bon Gamin' Gane, the former interim champion, who limped out of the octagon in presumed defeat before the decision was even read.

To be fair, Junichiro Kamijo also scored the fight for Gane. However, Kamijo does not have the same history as Byrd, who turned in one of the worst scorecards in recent years in favor of Saul Canelo Alvarez when he drew with Gennady Golovkin in their first meeting. 

Byrd scored that fight an absurd 118-110 for the Mexican star, while the other two judges had it 114-114 and 113-115, and fans never forgave her.

Add in the fact that MMA fans already resent that judges in the sport are often just boxing judges, and it makes sense why she is getting the brunt of the blame for robbing Volkov of what would have been his sixth win in a row, his best run in the UFC.

The Russian himself has also submitted his own criticism of Byrd, going on a long diatribe about her incompetence in the post-fight press conference, an hour or so after the fight.

"I don't know if she works on her judging skills, or she just sometimes comes to watch the fights because she likes it, and give the victory wherever she likes," Alexander said, before adding, "Maybe she liked Ciryl Gane's body more."

UFC president Dana White voiced support for the stance of 'Drago,' coming to his side immediately after Volkov left the cage; White also told media that the judges "robbed" the veteran Russian heavyweight.

Volkov and his team have stated their intent to appeal the decision, though appeals to overturn normal decisions — i.e. not fights that end due to some sort of foul — rarely succeed in MMA, but the Nevada State Athletic Commission does have an appeals process and Dana White has their ear.

Val Dewar

Val Dewar Photo

Val was initiated into Steelers Nation from the moment he was born — his first memory is a game vs. New England from when "Slash" was QB — and doing sports writing has always been a dream career for him. In 2022 he broke into the industry by writing about combat sports for Cageside Press, and now has the opportunity to continue that work with TSN as an MMA writer, as well as get his feet wet on the Steelers beat.