Gane vs Lewis betting picks & top odds – UFC 265 main event

Two of the top heavyweights in the world will collide for the interim UFC Heavyweight Championship when Derrick Lewis heads home to Houston, Texas, to take on Ciryl Gane in the main event of UFC 265 this Saturday night. BettingPlanet’s MMA expert brings you his fight insights and top picks for the Gane vs Lewis bout.

Gane vs Lewis UFC 265 main event preview

Ciryl Gane (9-0-0) has had a meteoric rise into the top five of the UFC’s heavyweight division thanks to a 9-0 record as a professional and a 6-0 record with the promotion. Gane has defeated some legitimate contenders in his climb up the heavyweight ladder with wins over Junior dos Santos, Jairzinho Rozenstruik, and Alexander Volkov. The Rozenstruik win stands out as a strong comparison for this fight; going up against a dangerous heavy-hitter, Gane used his speed and athleticism to stay in control for the entire bout.

Derrick Lewis (25-7-0) already held the record for the most knockouts in the UFC heavyweight division’s history before he knocked out Curtis Blaydes as a +375 underdog in February. That knockout was the 20th of Lewis’s career and the 12th of his UFC stint, moving him into a tie with Vitor Belfort for the most knockouts in promotion history regardless of weight class. Lewis is 13-3 over his last 16 fights, including a current four-fight winning streak with back-to-back knockout wins over Aleksei Oleinik and Curtis Blaydes.

Ciryl Gane vs Derrick Lewis fight analysis

The home crowd at the sold out Toyota Center will be going wild in heavy support of Derrick Lewis. He is always just one good punch away from victory, as indicated by the fact that 20 of his 25 wins have come by way of knockout. With all of this in mind, it should be a testament to how poorly he matches up with Ciryl Gane that you can get Lewis in front of his home crowd at a whopping +300 with some sports betting sites.

Gane has unbelievable speed and athleticism for a heavyweight, and none of the opponents he has faced have had an answer for him. It’s possible that Francis Ngannou might have a shot given his own speed and athleticism, but Lewis won’t. That isn’t to say that Lewis can’t get lucky and connect on a big shot to steal this win; the knockout artist is obviously capable of doing so. The odds he is getting to win, however, do not accurately reflect how unlikely this would be.

Gane vs Lewis predictions & best bets

Ciryl Gane has shown incredibly high ring IQ and a penchant for staying out of trouble against all of his opponents so far. He isn’t going to let his guard down against one of the hardest hitters in UFC history. As the home crowd ooh’s and aah’s in hopes of a big Derrick Lewis strike, look for Gane to methodically wear his opponent down and eventually win the interim belt in style with a knockout of his own.