UFC News: Cyril Gane Will Face Derrick Lewis For Interim Strap In August; Ngannou's Agent Concerned

Cyril Gane and Derrick Lewis are set for a titanic clash on August 7 as they fight for the interim heavyweight title at UFC 265, as reported by Brett Okamoto of ESPN.

The unbeaten Gane had himself a coming-out party that cemented himself as one of the next contenders for the heavyweight title after dominating No. 5-ranked Alexander Volkov last Saturday.

The French used his exceptional speed and striking ability to confuse Volkov. He landed 157 strikes in a fight that went the distance.

Gane was ranked third going into the fight and scored the unanimous victory with scores of 50-45, 50-45, and 49-46.

He took control of the bout and most of the striking exchanges as he initiated most of it, but Volkov was also able to put in some offense of his own in the fourth round as he kicked Gane’s legs repeatedly and landed solid head strikes.

With the win, he is currently sitting with a perfect record of six wins in the UFC, and his ninth win overall as a pro.

The UFC had been targeting Lewis to compete in his hometown of Houston for quite some time now, and his billing at UFC 265 makes little surprise to anyone.

But the expectation was that he would be facing newly-crowned heavyweight champion Francis Ngannou for the strap.

The “Black Beast,” holding a record of 16 wins and 5 losses in the UFC, is looking at his second chance to win gold in the fight against Gane.

Lewis took on Daniel Cormier for the title back in 2018 after knocking out Volkov at UFC 229 but lost that fight as he was submitted in the second round.

MMA Junkie reports that Ngannou and the UFC couldn’t come to terms, so the promotion decided to move forward and book the interim fight.

The announcement of the Gane-Lewis fight raised some concerns from Ngannou’s agent, Marquel Martin.

“To make an interim title so soon, if you look at the history of this division, it comes as a surprise. We hope to get clarity and figure out something with the UFC soon,” said Martin.

To most onlookers, the interim title fight is a confusing one as well since Ngannou had just won his title off of Stipe Miocic in March of this year.

The fight may have been scheduled due to the champion’s insistence of a Jon Jones fight as he told TMZ Sports on June 11.

Regardless, Ngannou will be watching the interim fight closely as it would make sense that his next challenger will be the winner of the Gane-Lewis encounter.