This past Saturday at UFC 265 in the main event, the interim heavyweight title was on the line. Derrick “The Black Beast” Lewis (25-8, 1 NC) was fighting in his hometown as he was taking on the undefeated Ciryl Gane (10-0).
The winner of the interim title would earn a shot at the undisputed UFC champion Francis Ngannou (16-3). Going into UFC 265, the game plan was pretty obvious for both men.
For Derrick Lewis, it was going to be about finding that one shot that would put Gane out. Lewis has ungodly power in his hands and he’s proven that he just needs to hit you one good time for the show to be over.
For Ciryl Gane, it was going to be about being elusive and striking from the outside. Well, one of those game plans was executed perfectly. The fighter who executed perfectly at UFC 265 was Ciryl Gane.
Gane kept Lewis on the outside all night long. Lewis never really got close to landing anything significant and it was domination from Gane. Gane ended up stopping Lewis in the third round.
What’s next after UFC 265?
This is a tough one to swallow for Lewis who was fighting for the UFC title in his hometown. All week long, Lewis talked about how much pressure was on his shoulders to perform in front of his friends, his family, and his city.
To be completely honest, I think the moment got to Lewis a bit. Combine that with the sheer brilliance of Ciryl Gane and you had the perfect recipe for disaster for The Black Beast at UFC 265.
From here, where does Lewis go? Well, for anyone who’s quick to write of Lewis, I’ll remind you that he’s still one of the very best heavyweights in the UFC. Remember, he did just knock out Curtis Blaydes a few months ago.
There’s two opponents that I’m looking at for Derrick Lewis next. The first one is Stipe Miocic (20-4). Let’s be honest, Miocic wants and likely deserves an immediate rematch for the UFC heavyweight title. However, we know the promotion isn’t doing that.
If Miocic wants to be active, he should take a fight with Lewis. It would be a massive fight for both men and for fans. The other opponent I’m thinking about is Alexander Volkov (33-9).
Volkov and Lewis fought before at UFC 229 and Volkov dominated most of the fight before a last second Lewis knockout. If Volkov wins his fight against Marcin Tybura, I’m sure fans would love to see that rematch for The Black Beast.