UFC 265: Gane Slays Lewis to Snatch Interim HW Title

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"Bon Gamin," translated to the good kid in English, looked better than ever in Houston. Cyril Gane, the Frenchman just three years into his professional MMA career, inflicted a beatdown on hometown favourite Derrick Lewis to reach the near-pinnacle of the sport as the UFC's interim heavyweight champion.

After stopping "The Black Beast" with punches to complement a debilitating attack of leg kicks, Gane sets up a colossal showdown with Francis Ngannou for the undisputed heavyweight championship in the near future.

While the Houston natives left with their heads slumped, it was a memorable night for the Brazilian contingent as Jose Aldo and Vicente Luque pulled off sensational wins to creep back towards title contention.

Highlight reel prelims

The night got off to a wild start with four finishes in the early prelims, starting with Johnny Munoz's submission of Jamey Simmons. The striking was well matched but on the ground Munoz was able to show his skill for a big win. Afterwards, Victoria Leonardo's toughness would be dismissed by a doctor when she was stopped after two rounds when she broke her arm against Melissa Gatto. Miles Johns picked up a $50,000 performance of the night bonus for his electric knockout of Anderson Dos Santos, going down to the body and upstairs in a swift combination for a walk-off KO. Rounding out the Fight Pass prelims portion of the card, Manel Kape finally announced himself to the UFC when he stopped Ode Osbourne with a flying knee. 

Jessica Penne's redemption tour following suspension continued with an emphatic submission over Karolina Kowalkiewicz, taking full advantage of the Pole's ill-fated decision to go to the ground with her. After decision wins for Alonzo Menifield and Vince Morales, a fight-of-the-night was turned out by the lightweights as Rafael Fiziev picked up an exciting decision win over Bobby Green. 

Yadong hops over Kenney

China's Song Yadong put it all together in his biggest win to date when he saw off fellow prospect Casey Kenney in the main card opener.

The story of the fight did not deviate a great deal over the course of three rounds, with Kenney applying pressure but unable to cut the cage off. In response, the Team Alpha Male fighter popped him with a variety of strikes that didn't necessarily sting his opponent, but made plenty of ground in the judges scorecard. Small scares came by the way of a scramble in the end of the first round that Song saw off, before defying a couple of takedown attempts in the rest of the fight. Yadong would pull away in the final round, pressuring more towards the final bell. The judges ruling it a split decision in his favour was perhaps the only contentious point, considering Yadong's fifteen minutes of success.

Tiny Tornado completes the double

Six years on from their first meeting in Mexico City, Tecia Torres once again got the better of Angela Hill with a lopsided unanimous decision triumph.

"The Tiny Tornado" got behind her kicks to make up for the range discrepancy right off the bat while Hill was planting her feet and trying to crack her nemesis with power shots. Granted, a few right hands did score for Hill who also mounted Torres in the final seconds of the second, however Torres' movement and pace was winning her the fight. Hill needed something big to change fortunes in the final frame but to no avail, with both women not hesitant to trade in the cage. Torres punctuated a fine performance with a rapid double leg takedown as she secured her third win on the bounce.

Luque beats Chiesa at his own game

Vicente Luque made an almighty splash in the welterweight division as he submitted Michael Chiesa in the first round, setting aim at the 170 lbs kingpin Kamaru Usman.

The Brazilian took the centre whilst "Maverick" circled and used his lateral movement around the perimeter of the cage. He stepped in to time a beautiful one-two that cut Luque open, before "The Silent Assassin" landed a solid hook that caused Chiesa to stumble on the exit. The takedown everyone was expecting soon came when the opportunity presented itself for Chiesa to shoot for the takedown and land on top. He came close to securing a rear-naked choke twice but Luque did a fantastic job in scrambling out of that position and gaining top control. Despite being a veteran and grappling specialist, Chiesa made the costly error of leaving his neck exposed when scrambling to his feet, falling into the clutches of a ruthless Darce choke. The American attempted to roll his way out of it to no avail, eventually tapping as Luque surged into title contention at 170.

King of Rio looks better than ever

Former featherweight kingpin Jose Aldo showed no signs of letting up as the legend picked apart Pedro Munhoz for three rounds, keeping his name well and truly atop the mix in the UFC's most stacked division.

Aldo took plenty of reads on his compatriot in the opening stanza, as Munhoz opened with a wheel kick and tried to catch the former pound-for-pound king cold. He set the pace and Aldo obliged, throwing heat of his own, and going down to the body with his patented devastating body shots. The boxing-heavy approach of Aldo was paying dividends and his hand speed was too much for Munhoz to handle, while defensively he evaded most of the shots, riding the strikes that Munhoz did land and reset anytime he was pushed into uncomfortable territory.

In the final round Aldo really excelled, going back to basics with his leg kicks and unleashing blistering combinations that had Munhoz backing up. To his credit, "The Young Punisher" continued to fight hard but the scorecards were lopsided in Aldo's favour come the final bell. Jose Aldo landed the most significant strikes of his entire career on the night, showing that he continues to improve after all these years.

Gane slays The Black Beast to set up Ngannou clash

A partisan Houston crowd was silenced by a magnificent striking display from Cyril Gane as the Frenchman claimed the interim version of the UFC Heavyweight Championship.

"Bon Gamin" had his way with Derrick Lewis from the opening bell, operating at a safe range and totting up the strikes with solid work to the lead leg of the hometown favourite. He was clearly cautious of the colossal power possessed by his opponent, scurrying to safety anytime "The Black Beast" got near.

A frantic reception from his team at the end of the first bell said it all - Lewis was already in a deepening hole. When he tried to switch things up in the clinch, he was overpowered and out-manouevred by the smaller man. Cyril continued to land with elbows and leg kicks, while Lewis simply couldn't get any offence going.

The Muay Thai veteran chopped away at the lead leg of Lewis with even more vigour into the third round, defying a bodylock takedown attempt from Lewis and getting behind the jab. The flimsy house of cards that were Lewis' dashing title hopes would all come tumbling down when a debilitating leg kick had him in retreat as Gane poured on the offence. Lewis was able to survive for the time being, throwing back heat of his own, but with the Frenchman now going upstairs too he folded into a heap and was punched out to a referee stoppage.