Ciryl Gane beat Derrick Lewis in the main event of UFC 265 on Sunday (August 8) to be crowned the interim heavyweight champion.
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Derrick Lewis proudly proclaims himself to be the knockout king. He even has the words tattoed across his chest. Therefore, when a man famed for his knockouts gets knocked out in a bout, it makes the irony all the more easy to appreciate. But his knockout loss to Ciryl Gane at UFC 265 on Sunday (August 8) wasn’t just any bout. No, it was a bout where the winner would be crowned the interim heavyweight champion. Thus, the French fighter is now holder of a belt that, in truth, shouldn’t really exist.
The current heavyweight champion is Francis Ngannou, who hasn’t even held the belt for five months at this point. But for whatever reason – because it’s not been explained by the UFC – they felt the need to create an interim belt.
The new interim HW champ @Ciryl_Gane has something to say ??#UFC265 pic.twitter.com/VZFP92uA1B
— UFC (@ufc) August 8, 2021
Therefore, the logical next fight for Gane is a title unification match against Ngannou. Win that and the Frenchman can thus make a legitimate claim to be among the best in the division.
Not that he can’t already. He currently boasts an impressive 10-0 record and therefore has proven that he is a very tough man to beat. But Ngannou is a whole different beast and will test Gane in ways that Lewis could not.
Lewis’ style is predicated on landing big blows as often as possible. The assumption, therefore, is that a more athletic opponent can duck and weave his blows while landing a few big ones of their own.
Gane might be a heavyweight but moves like someone who’s much lighter. Therefore, he ducked most of Lewis’ big shots.
A look at the numbers backs this up. Lewis could land only 16 significant blows on his opponent whereas Gane landed a whopping 98 significant shots of 122 attempted.
Gane’s strategy was simple: cut the big man down to size. He landed a series of leg shots until Gane was doubled over on the cage. Sensing an opening, Gane went in and then landed a series of punches on the big man.
It is a fine performance against a man considered one of the top fighters of the division. Lewis’ game might be focused on one part, but that is also because his knockout prowess is legendary.
If he had managed to impose himself on the bout, Gane might have had a harder time. But that wasn’t the case and Gane is the new interim champion.
Let us also take a look at the results on the rest of the card.
Interim heavyweight championship: No. 3 Ciryl Gane def. No. 2 Derrick Lewis via TKO
Bantamweight: No. 5 Jose Aldo def. No. 9 Pedro Munhoz via unanimous decision
Welterweight: No. 6 Vicente Luque def. No. 5 Michael Chiesa via submission
Strawweight: No. 10 Tecia Torres def. No. 12 Angela Hill via unanimous decision
Bantamweight: Song Yadong def. Casey Kenney via split decision
Lightweight: Rafael Fiziev def. Bobby Green via unanimous decision
Bantamweight: Vince Morales def. Drako Rodriguez via unanimous decision
Light heavyweight: Alonzo Menifield def. Ed Herman via unanimous decision
Strawweight: Jessica Penne def. Karolina Kowalkiewicz via submission
Flyweight: Manel Kape def. Ode Osbourne via KO (flying knee) at 4:44 of R1
Bantamweight: Miles Johns def. Anderson Dos Santos via KO (punch) at 1:16 of R3
Flyweight: Melissa Gatto def. Victoria Leonardo via TKO (doctor’s stoppage) at 5:00 of R2
Bantamweight: Johnny Muñoz Jr. def. Jamey Simmons via submission (rear naked) at 2:35 of R2
