Get up to date on the main event of UFC 265 between Derrick Lewis and Ciryl Gane.
The main event of UFC 265 will feature an interim heavyweight title fight between Derrick Lewis (25-7-1 NC MMA, 16-5 UFC) and Ciryl Gane (9-0 MMA, 6-0 UFC). UFC 265: Lewis vs. Gane airs live from the Toyota Center in Houston, Texas this Saturday, August 7th. The main card will start with a fight time of 10:00 p.m. ET/7.00 p.m. PT, with the ESPN/ESPN+ prelims beginning at 8:00 p.m. ET/5:00 p.m. PT and the early prelims kicking off at 6:00 p.m. ET/3:00 p.m. PT.
How do these two stack up?
Lewis: 36 years old | 6’3” | 79” reach
Gane: 31 years old | 6’5” | 81” reach
What have these two done recently?
Lewis: W – Curtis Blaydes (KO) | W – Aleksei Oleynik (TKO) | W – Ilir Latifi (DEC)
Gane: W – Alexander Volkov (DEC) | W – Jairzinho Rozenstruik (DEC) | W – Junior dos Santos (TKO)
How did these two get here?
To put it simply, both Derrick Lewis and Ciryl Gane fought their way into title contention. Lewis has already vied for the UFC heavyweight championship once, but was submitted by then-champion Daniel Cormier at UFC 230 in 2018. He did not rebound immediately and was knocked out by Junior dos Santos at UFC on ESPN+ 4 just four months later. That would be the last time we saw Lewis lose for a while though, as he rattled off four straight wins over the likes of Blagoy Ivanov, Ilir Latifi, Aleksei Oleynik and Curtis Blaydes. Now ranked at No. 2 in the division, it was clear Lewis was poised to challenge for gold again.
Gane looked like a contender upon his arrival to the promotion nearly two years ago. The undefeated fighter brought a more technical approach to his fights and that has led to a variety of finishes as well as dominant performances during his tenure thus far. The opposition only got harder, and Gane met a slew of notable names that included a former champion. He rose to the occasion every time and did so well that the interim title fight with Lewis was offered long before he met Alexander Volkov at UFC Vegas 30 this past June. He defeated Volkov and prepared himself for his first UFC title shot.
Why should you care?
The winner of Lewis vs. Gane will likely set up a title unification with current heavyweight champion, Francis Ngannou and that is something we definitely want to see. Both men have some sort of history with him, so an interesting fight will materialize once this one is over.