UFC 265: Lewis vs. Gane Preview

The last major UFC pay-per-view event of the summer will take place this weekend. UFC 265 lost some of its luster when it was announced that the Women’s Bantamweight Championship fight between Amanda Nunes and Julianna Pena had to be called off after Nunes tested positive for COVID last weekend. However, a title fight will still headline the promotion as Derrick Lewis and Ciryl Gane will square off for the interim UFC Heavyweight Championship. Current heavyweight champion Francis Ngannou isn’t happy about it, but the UFC was eager to give the fight some major stakes.

UFC 265 will take place on Saturday, August 7, 2021, at the Toyota Center in Houston, Texas. The preliminary card will kick off at 8 p.m. ET and be shown on ESPN2 and ESPN+, while the main card will start at 10 p.m. ET and only be available through PPV.

UFC 265: Lewis vs. Gane Betting Odds

Ciryl Gane -358

Derrick Lewis +283

This might be a title fight, but Ciryl Gane is a heavy favorite per the UFC betting odds. Gane is currently unbeaten as an MMA fighter, and he was undefeated as a Muay Thai fighter too. The Frenchman won all 13 of his fights in that sport, knocking out nine of his opponents.

He transitioned to MMA three years ago and immediately won the TKO Heavyweight Championship. Gane defended that belt twice before joining the UFC, and he has defeated his first six opponents to run his overall record in MMA to 9-0. We have seen a bit of everything from Gane as he has three knockouts, three submissions, and three unanimous decision wins.

Derrick Lewis has won four straight fights ahead of this bout. He was impressive with second-round knockouts against Curtis Blaydes and Aleksei Oleinik in the last year, but Lewis has also lost seven times in his MMA career. His previous title shot didn’t go well as he was submitted by Daniel Cormier in November 2018.

Gane has an excellent set of skills that Lewis will find it hard to match up with given his background. Lewis has just one submission victory and isn’t comfortable on the mat, but Gane can stand and trade or take the fight to the ground and be in his element.

Jose Aldo -116

Pedro Munhoz -104

Former featherweight champion Jose Aldo is still one of the top fighters in the world. Although he has lost five of his last eight fights, three of those defeats were in title bouts. Aldo was the UFC Featherweight champion for five years before his loss to Conor McGregor at UFC 194, and he is currently the No. 5 ranked bantamweight.

Pedro Munhoz has recent victories over Rob Font and Cody Garbrandt. However, he lost split decisions to Frankie Edgar and John Dodson, and he was trounced by Aljamain Sterling at UFC 238. More often than not, Munhoz has failed to beat elite fighters in the Octagon, so Aldo is the pick as a slight favorite on Saturday.

Vicente Luque -110

Michael Chiesa -110

The oddsmakers don’t know who to give the edge to in this fight between welterweight contenders. Michael Chiesa is currently ranked No. 5 in the division, while Vicente Luque is right behind him at No. 6.

Chiesa has won four consecutive fights ahead of this tilt, while Luque is on a three-match winning streak. Luque has won Fight of the Night or Performance of the Night bonuses in five of this last seven matches, and he has a stand-up game that Chiesa doesn’t possess. That should give Luque a slight edge.

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