''UFC 265: Lewis vs. Gane'' was a

mixed martial arts Mixed martial arts (MMA), sometimes referred to as cage fighting, no holds barred (NHB), and ultimate fighting, and originally referred to as Vale Tudo is a full-contact combat sport based on striking, grappling and ground fighting, inc ...

event produced by the

Ultimate Fighting Championship The Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) is an American mixed martial arts (MMA) promotion company based in Las Vegas, Nevada. It is owned and operated by Zuffa, a wholly owned subsidiary of Endeavor Group Holdings. It is the largest MMA ...

that took place on August 7, 2021, at the

Toyota Center Toyota Center is an indoor arena located in Houston. It is named after the Japanese automobile manufacturer Toyota. The arena is home to the Houston Rockets of the National Basketball Association (NBA), and it was once the home of the Houston ...

Houston Houston (; ) is the most populous city in Texas, the most populous city in the Southern United States, the fourth-most populous city in the United States, and the sixth-most populous city in North America, with a population of 2,304,580 in ...

Texas Texas (, ; Spanish language, Spanish: ''Texas'', ''Tejas'') is a state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States. At 268,596 square miles (695,662 km2), and with more than 29.1 million residents in 2 ...

, United States.

Background

An interim

UFC Heavyweight Championship Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) champions are fighters who have won UFC championships. Historical notes At the time of the UFC's inception in 1993, mixed martial arts was not sanctioned in the United States, and did not include weight classe ...

bout between former title challenger

Derrick Lewis Derrick James Lewis (born February 7, 1985) is an American professional mixed martial artist. He currently competes in the Heavyweight division in the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC), where he currently holds the record for most knockouts ...

and

Ciryl Gane Ciryl Jacky Gane (born 12 April 1990) is a French professional mixed martial artist. He currently competes in the Heavyweight division in the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC), where he is a former Interim UFC Heavyweight Champion. A professi ...

headlined the event. The original plan was to feature current champion

Francis Ngannou Francis Zavier Ngannou (born 5 September 1986) is a Cameroonian professional mixed martial artist. He currently competes in the Heavyweight division in the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC), where he is the current UFC Heavyweight Champion. A ...

defending his title against Lewis, but the promotion opted to move forward with the interim contest due to the alleged refusal of the champion to defend it in August (despite winning the championship just over four months earlier and claiming he was available for his first defense in September). A

UFC Women's Bantamweight Championship Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) champions are fighters who have won UFC championships. Historical notes At the time of the UFC's inception in 1993, mixed martial arts was not sanctioned in the United States, and did not include weight classes ...

bout between the current champion

Amanda Nunes Amanda Lourenço Nunes (born May 30, 1988) is a Brazilian professional mixed martial artist. She competes in the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC), where she is the current UFC Women's Featherweight Champion and two-time UFC Women's Bantamw ...

(also the current UFC Women's Featherweight Champion) and The Ultimate Fighter: Team Rousey vs. Team Tate bantamweight winner

Julianna Peña Julianna Nicole Peña (born August 19, 1989) is an American professional mixed martial artist who competes in the bantamweight division of the Ultimate Fighting Championship, where she is the former UFC Women's Bantamweight Champion. Peña is th ...

was expected to take place at the event. However on July 29, the bout was pulled due to Nunes testing positive for COVID-19. They are now expected to be rescheduled for a future event.

Johnny Muñoz Jr. Johnny Muñoz Jr (born February 16, 1993) is an American mixed martial artist who competes in the Bantamweight division of the Ultimate Fighting Championship. Background With his parents founding the BJJ school CQuence Jiu Jitsu in Norco, Califor ...

and Jamey Simmons were expected to meet in a bantamweight bout at

UFC 261 ''UFC 261: Usman vs. Masvidal 2'' was a mixed martial arts event produced by the Ultimate Fighting Championship that took place on April 24, 2021 at VyStar Veterans Memorial Arena in Jacksonville, Florida, United States. Background The promotio ...

, but the latter pulled out due to undisclosed reasons. They were later rescheduled for this event. A middleweight bout between Uriah Hall and

Sean Strickland Sean Thomas Strickland (born February 27, 1991) is an American mixed martial artist who currently competes in the middleweight division of the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC). A professional competitor since 2008, he is the former King of ...

was expected to take place at this event. However, the pairing was moved to the week prior and headlined UFC on ESPN: Hall vs. Strickland. A women's strawweight rematch between

Tecia Torres Tecia Lyn Torres Moncaio (born August 16, 1989) is an American mixed martial artist who is currently competing in the strawweight division of the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC). As of October 24, 2022, she is #8 in the UFC women's straww ...

and former Invicta FC Strawweight Champion

Angela Hill Angela Patrice Hill (born January 12, 1985) is an American mixed martial artist who competes in the strawweight division. She was formerly signed with the Invicta Fighting Championships, of which she was the strawweight champion. She is also ...

took place at this event. The pairing met previously at

UFC 188 ''UFC 188: Velasquez vs. Werdum'' was a mixed martial arts event held on June 13, 2015, at Arena Ciudad de México in Mexico City, Mexico. Background The event was headlined by a UFC Heavyweight Championship unification bout between then champion ...

in June 2015, when Torres won by unanimous decision. The rematch was originally scheduled to take place in December 2020 at

UFC 256 ''UFC 256: Figueiredo vs. Moreno'' was a mixed martial arts event produced by the Ultimate Fighting Championship that took place on December 12, 2020 at the UFC Apex facility in Enterprise, Nevada, part of the Las Vegas Metropolitan Area, United ...

, but Hill tested positive for COVID-19 during the week leading up to the event and was removed from the bout. A bantamweight bout between

Miles Johns Miles Xavier Johns (born March 30, 1994) is an American mixed martial artist who competes in the Bantamweight division of the Ultimate Fighting Championship. A professional competitor since 2011, he has also formerly competed for Legacy Fighting ...

and Anderson dos Santos took place at this event. The pair was scheduled to meet at UFC on ESPN: Makhachev vs. Moisés, but it was removed just hours before the show due to COVID-19 protocol issues stemming from dos Santos' camp. At the weigh-ins, former Rizin Bantamweight Champion

Manel Kape Manuel Pedro Gomes (born November 14, 1993) better known as Manel Kape, is an Angolan mixed martial artist currently competing as a flyweight in the Ultimate Fighting Championship. A professional competitor since 2012, he has formerly competed fo ...

weighed in at 129 pounds, three pounds over the flyweight non-title fight limit. His bout proceeded at a catchweight and he forfeited 20% of his purse to his opponent

Ode' Osbourne Ode’ Omaani Osbourne (born January 9, 1992) is a Jamaican mixed martial artist who competes in the Flyweight division of the Ultimate Fighting Championship. Background Growing up in Kingston, Jamaica, Osbourne lived primarily with his grandmoth ...

Results

Bonus awards

The following fighters received $50,000 bonuses. *Fight of the Night: Rafael Fiziev vs. Bobby Green *Performance of the Night: Ciryl Gane, Vicente Luque, Jessica Penne, and Miles Johns

References

{{2021 in mixed martial arts Ultimate Fighting Championship events 2021 in mixed martial arts August 2021 sports events in the United States Mixed martial arts in Houston Sports competitions in Houston 2021 in sports in Texas

Background

Results

Bonus awards

See also

References