The interim UFC heavyweight title will be on the line at UFC 265: Lewis vs. Gane on Saturday, August 7 in Houston, Texas. The current champ is Francis Ngannou but he didn’t want to defend the title this month, so the UFC put together an interim UFC title bout between Derrick Lewis and Ciryl Gane. Lewis is 25-7-1 in his career, while Gane is 9-0. There are a total of five fights on the main pay-per-view card of UFC 265: Lewis vs. Gane and eight preliminary bouts on ESPN 2, ESPN+ and UFC Fight Pass. Let’s look at the bout between Lewis and Gane and UFC predictions.
UFC 265: Lewis vs. Gane takes place at the Toyota Center in Houston, Texas on Saturday, August 7 with five fights on the main pay-per-view card and eight preliminary bouts on ESPN 2, ESPN+ and UFC Fight Pass.
UFC 265: Lewis vs. Gane Betting
Derrick Lewis (25-7-1, 16-5 UFC)
Lewis came into the UFC with a record of 9-2-1 and he has 16 wins and five losses in the UFC. In his last five fights he is 4-1. He is coming off a knockout win against Curtis Blaydes in February. Lewis won by TKO against Aleksei Oleinik in August of last year, won a unanimous decision against Ilir Latifi in February of last year, won a split decision against Blagoy Ivanov in November of 2019 and lost by TKO to Junior dos Santos in March of 2019. Lewis has been a pro since 2010 and he has 10 wins by KO/TKO and one by submission. He has six first round finishes.
Lewis has not been impressed with Gane and his style. “He’s just going into decisions,” Lewis said to the media, “The way his fighting style is, he’s not really trying to finish the fighter. He’s just going out there doing karate, kickboxing and trying to win by points. His opponents just don’t see that. I know I see straight through it. I’m going out there looking for a finish and for it to be a very exciting fight for myself.”
Ciryl Gane (9-0, 6-0 UFC)
Gane came into the UFC with a record of 3-0 and he has six wins and no losses in the UFC. He is 5-0 in his last five fights. He is coming off unanimous decision win against Alexander Volkov in June. He won a unanimous decision against Jairzinho Rozenstruik in February, won by TKO against Junior dos Santos in December of last year, won a unanimous decision against Tanner Boser in December of 2019 and won by submission against Don’Tale Mayes in October of 2019. Gane has been a pro since 2018 and he has three wins by knockout and three by submission. He has three first round finishes.
Gane said he is going to stick with his style and that means hitting Lewis and not getting hit. “This guy is really dangerous with his fists,” Gane said to the media, “So the plan is make pressure, touch him – but he’s not going to touch me. … I think it’s going to be my game plan like every fight: Touch the guy and never get touched. I touch him and he never touches me – something like that. And if it’s possible, finish the fight before the end. I’m going to try.”
Striking Stats
Strikes landed per minute: Lewis 2.59 / Gane 5.13
Striking Accuracy: Lewis 50% / Gane 54%
Strikes absorbed per minute: Lewis 2.16 / Gane 2.60
Defense: Lewis 44% / Gane 63%
Grappling Stats
Takedown average: Lewis 0.52 / Gane 0.82
Takedown Accuracy: Lewis 26% / Gane 21%
Takedowns defended: Lewis 54% / Gane 100%
Submission average: Lewis 0.0 / Gane 0.3
UFC Picks
Is Gane really good enough to be more than a 3-1 favorite? Gane has done nothing wrong in his career, but we have to remember he has fought just nine times. I don’t lay big prices so I am definitely not taking Gane at this price. I think this fight is all about taking value. I think Lewis is worth a play simply because of the big price of +264. Taking Lewis to win by knockout at a big plus price is also worth considering. If Gane does get the win then this fight will probably go to a decision, so I will also play the rounds to go over 4.5 at +143.
UFC 265: Lewis vs. Gane Card & Odds
Heavyweight - Derrick Lewis +264 vs. Ciryl Gane -355
Bantamweight - Pedro Munhoz -110 vs. Jose Aldo -120
Bantamweight - Casey Kenney -120 vs. Yadong Song -110
Welterweight - Michael Chiesa -110 vs. Vicente Luque -120
Bantamweight - Vince Morales -110 vs. Drako Rodriguez -120
Bantamweight - Jamey Simmons +120 vs. Johnny Munoz Jr. -270
Women's Flyweight - Victoria Leonardo -115 vs. Melissa Gatto -115
Women's Strawweight - Tecia Torres -137 vs. Angela Hill +107
Light Heavyweight - Ed Herman +194 vs. Alonzo Menifield -250
Women's Flyweight - Karolina Kowalkiewicz -128 vs. Jessica Penne -102
Flyweight - Ode Osbourne +158 vs. Manel Kape -200
Lightweight - Bobby Green +235 vs. Rafael Fiziev -310
Bantamweight - Anderson dos Santos +168 vs. Miles Johns -215
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