- Odds: Derrick Lewis +210 underdog vs Ciryl Gane -275 favorite
- Date & Location: UFC 265, August 7, at the Toyota Center in Houston, Texas.
Francis Ngannou only won the UFC heavyweight title less than 3 months ago. Yet, the UFC has decided to book an interim title bout for UFC 265 between Derrick Lewis and Ciryl Gane. We review the opening UFC 265 odds for Lewis vs Gane with some early betting analysis below.
Derrick Lewis vs Ciryl Gane Odds
| Fighter | Odds |
| Derrick Lewis | +210 |
| Ciryl Gane | -275 |
Derrick “The Black Beast” Lewis remains a firm betting underdog to Ciryl Gane. At +210, you can wager $100 on Lewis defeating Gane to net $210. Online sportsbooks are hot on Gane, who’s undefeated and is coming off a fresh win over Alexander Volkov. Gane has an implied win probability of 73% for defeating Lewis.
For more UFC odds and betting previews check out our MMA section.
Betting Value on Lewis at UFC 265
Derrick Lewis is historically been overlooked by the oddsmakers. From his split decision win over Ngannou where he was a +280 underdog come fight night. To his KO win over Volkov at UFC 229, Lewis has made a habit of coming back late in fights to score KO wins.
Lewis is currently on a four-fight win streak and is determined to win his second shot at UFC gold. His medical and back issues are recovered, on top of that, he’s worked on any holes in his game including cardio and takedown defense.
Lewis’s next challenge is former undefeated Muay Thai specialist Ciryl Gane. The Frenchman went 13-0 in Muay Thai before transitioning into MMA, and joined the UFC with only 3 pro fights under his belt. Since then he’s proven himself among the top ten at heavyweight including Junior dos Santos, Jairzinho Rozenstruik, and most recently Alexander Volkov. While Gane does that elite striking, he has only TKO once out of his 6 UFC fights.
Overall, there this will be one of Lewis’s biggest challenges going against a heavyweight in his prime. He is undefeated and has a well-rounded set of skills. I expect this fight to a cagey fight at the beginning and heat up towards the championship rounds. Check out the betting props for Lewis to win by KO at UFC 265 for the best betting value.
Ngannou Get’s Sidelined
After Ngannou tried to play ball and down Derrick Lewis as his first title challenger. The UFC decided to teach “The Predator” a lesson and book an interim title to keep the heavyweight division rolling.
Accoridng to MMAJunkie, Dana White relayed a fiery response to the statement in the comments of the post.
“This dude is SO FULL OF SH*T!!!” White wrote in his reply. “He knows EXACTLY what’s going on and isn’t “shocked” at all. Because we told him several times this was coming. His Management is incompetent and hopefully, Francis starts taking a look at new people to help his career.”
UFC 265 takes place on Sat., Aug. 7, 2021, via ESPN+ PPV. The card will be headlined by Derrick Lewis vs. Ciryl Gane for the UFC interim Heavyweight title and also boasts Amanda Nunes vs. Julianna Pena for UFC women’s Bantamweight strap.