The Interim Heavyweight Title is on the line and no it isn’t Jon Jones. Undefeated new kid on the block Ciryl Gane faces off against The Black Beast Derrick Lewis at UFC 265. UFC 265 is a good solid card. Amanda Nunes was set to defend her Bantamweight title vs #5 ranked Juliana Pena but, unfortunately, Nunes contracted COVID19 and was forced to back out of the fight. That left a vacancy in the Main-Event so the fight between Pedro Munhoz and Jose Aldo slid up and filled in for the Co-Main.
#2 Derrick Lewis (25-7) vs #3 Ciryl Gane (9-0)
The most shocking and surprising part of this card is that Gane (-371) is somehow the favourite vs the human highlight reel Derrick Lewis (+280). OK fine, it;s not that shocking but Gane has won his last two fights by decision in very uneventful fashion. Like we saw with Lewis when he finished Alexander Volkov at the end of the fight with a one punch KO, he is always one punch away from the win. Hard to look past the finishing power of Lewis over a point fighter kickboxer in Gane.
Lewis by TKO/KO +390
#10 Tecia Torres (11-5) vs #12 Angela Hill (13-9)
This is going to be a tough fight to predict. Both fighters are trying to climb back to the top of The Women’s Straweight division. Hill (+117) is the uderdog for obvious reason. She is coming off a very close split division loss to Michelle Watterson and most recently, a win over Ashley Yoder by decision. Tecia Torres has four losses in her last six fights. Three of which were against former UFC Champions. Tecia not only has a great nickname, but she is a feisty intelligent fighter witha bone to pick with Hill. Hill made allegations that Torres was on steroids and was kicked out of her gym. BUT! Torres might be too emotional in this fight so I’m going for the underdog Hill.
Angela Hill via TKO/KO +580
#5 Michael Chiesa (18-4) vs #6 Vicente Luque (20-7-1)
This is the classic wrestler vs striker fight. Luque (-120) , although lethal on the ground and a BJJ Blackbelt, loves to standup and scrap. His fight vs Wonderboy was very boring and Luque got pieced up by THE NICEST M*****F*****R. Luque’s last fight was a win by submission over Tyron Woodley. Since moving to Welterweight Chiesa has been building his stock up. Chiesa just demolished Neil Magny in a 5 round wrestling match, proving that he belongs in the UFC. We would love to see an all out standup war but realistically, we will be treated with a technical clinic. Chiesa’s grappling will prevail here where Luque will have a hard time finding his rhythm.
Chiesa via Submission +500
There are plenty of other good fights on this card like Song Yadong vs Casey Kenney but look no further then the prelims. Ed Herman vs Alonzo Menifield, Bobby Green vs Rafael Fiziev and how can we ignore former contender Karolina Kowalkiewicz faces off vs brawler Jessica Penne. Best to go a small unit on these fights because of their unpredictability. Lines that should interest you:
Menifield via decision +480
Green via KO + 800
Penne via KO +1400