Report: UFC booking Derrick Lewis vs Ciryl Gane for interim heavyweight title at UFC 265

An interim title? The UFC has set Derrick Lewis vs Ciryl Gane for gold.

By: Zane Simon | 2 years ago
Report: UFC booking Derrick Lewis vs Ciryl Gane for interim heavyweight title at UFC 265
Bloody Elbow 2.0 | Anton Tabuena

Derrick Lewis vs Ciryl Gane? It seems likely that the UFC were targeting a heavyweight title fight between Francis Ngannou and Lewis to sit atop their Houston PPV card later this summer. But if that was the hope, then those plans appear to have hit a bump in the road.

Instead, ESPN’s Brett Okamoto announced via Twitter that the promotion is now putting together an interim title bout between Derrick Lewis vs Ciryl Gane to headline UFC 265.

Gane is fresh off a dominant five round decision over Alexander Volkov this past Saturday, June 26th in the main event of UFC Vegas 30. ‘Bon Gamin’ has rocketed up the heavyweight division on the back of a nine-fight unbeaten streak including victories over former champion Junior Dos Santos and rising challenger Jairzinho Rozenstruik.

For Lewis, UFC 265 will represent the ‘Black Beast’’s second chance at UFC gold. The 4oz Fight Club talent took on Daniel Cormier for the belt back in 2018, fresh off his own knockout victory over Volkov at UFC 229. Cormier submitted Lewis in the second round, but despite another setback loss to JDS the Houston-based fighter won four-straight bouts to once again cement his claim as one of the best heavyweights in the world.

The booking still seems a bit strange, with Ngannou having only just won his title back in March. But after Ngannou told TMZ earlier this month that he’s still looking for the fight with Jones, it appears the UFC may have decided to push forward without him—and possibly add a little extra pressure for future negotiations.

“Give me Jon Jones!” Ngannou told TMZ Sports on June 11th (transcript via MMANytt), “That’s the fight I want. I do not care what has been said and already planned. I love that match and it’s Jones I’m set to face.”

UFC 265 will take place on August 7th. Alongside the Derrick Lewis vs Ciryl Gane heavyweight main event, a women’s bantamweight title fight between Amanda Nunes and Julianna Pena has also been scheduled for the card. Stay tuned to Bloody Elbow for more news and notes as fight day approaches.

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About the author
Zane Simon
Zane Simon

Zane Simon is a senior editor, writer, and podcaster for Bloody Elbow. He has worked with the website since 2013, taking on a wide variety of roles. A lifelong combat sports fan, Zane has trained off & on in both boxing and Muay Thai. He currently hosts the long-running MMA Vivisection podcast, which he took over from Nate Wilcox & Dallas Winston in 2015, as well as the 6th Round podcast, started in 2014. Zane is also responsible for developing and maintaining the ‘List of current UFC fighters’ on Bloody Elbow, a resource he originally developed for Wikipedia in 2010.

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