Derrick Lewis vs Ciryl Gane: UFC 265

David Larsen @admin

Posted: July 4, 2021
Last updated: July 4, 2021

UFC heavyweight contenders Derrick Lewis and Ciryl Gane have been assigned to fight each other at UFC 265 for the interim heavyweight championship on August 7. For months UFC has been busy setting up the fight for the UFC heavyweight title and has had a road full of difficulties to get an opponent for their champion Francis Ngannou. The first opponent they had ready for Francis was the former UFC light-heavyweight champion, Jon Jones. The promotion tried to set up the matchup several times but the fight never made it to the end. Jon Jones has asked for a huge paycheck from the UFC to face Ngannou for the belt and UFC was never going to pay that amount. Negotiations with Jones quickly worsened, and the UFC shifted to Lewis as the first challenger for Ngannou.

The UFC tried to book an undisputed title fight between defending champion Francis Ngannou and Lewis in June and then targeted it again for UFC 265 on Aug. 7. Ngannou told the UFC that he wouldn’t be ready to defend the title by August so he requested them to move the fight to the September card but the promotion wasn’t ready to wait that long and came up with an alternative plan. Now at UFC 265 Derrick Lewis and Ciryl Gane will fight for the interim belt and the winner will secure his date with the champion Francis Ngannou. UFC president Dana White told ESPN the company believes Lewis and Gane are both deserving of a title fight. Lewis holds a victory over Ngannou from 2018 in a lackluster three-round fight. He is on a four-fight win streak.

Derrick Lewis Gets His second Title Shot

Derrick Lewis will get the opportunity to claim the interim strap in his hometown of Houston in the Aug. 7 headliner at Toyota Center. This will be his second opportunity to fight for the title as he fought Daniel Cormier for the heavyweight title but lost the fight via submission. Following four consecutive wins that included knockouts of Aleksei Oleinik and most recently Curtis Blaydes, “The Black Beast” Lewis the no.1 contender in the heavyweight division. This fight will be a great opportunity for him to touch the UFC gold that to in his hometown.

Ciryl Gane recently defeated Alexander Volkov via unanimous decision at UFC Fight Night 190. The win was his sixth in as many UFC appearances. Volkov joined a list of fighters Gane defeated that includes Jairzinho Rozenstruik and Junior Dos Santos among others. He is an undefeated prospect and is 9-0 in MMA and 6-0 in the UFC. He has opened as the betting favorite against Lewis. The odd UFC 265 headliner has opened as Ciryl Gane -325 favorite and Derrick Lewis +275 underdog.

UFC 265 Card: