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Cyril Gane vs. Derrick Lewis

Gane– A Muay Thai and Kickboxing fighter who spends a majority of the time in a southpaw stance. He is unlike any heavyweight fighter you will ever see with his combination of speed and technique. Gane utilizes his kicks and jabs very well. His quickness inside the octagon is unreal for someone who is 6’5” 245lbs and he uses it to his advantage. I would describe him as a very tactical fighter. In his last fight against Alexander Volkov, he did very well in sizing and measuring up a much larger opponent waiting patiently to time his attacks. As the fight went on he became much more comfortable and confident in his striking. He likes to use a ton of deception to set up his attacks and combos. When he does strike he mixes up the shots to the leg, body, and head very well and will throw in a takedown attempt once in a while to keep his opponent guessing. When Gane is under pressure he stays calm and covers up blocking shots well. One thing Gane does have to be careful of is his eye pokes. He likes to use an open hand to block his opponent’s hand and measure distance. He caught Volkov twice and almost cost himself a crucial point.

Lewis– There is one physical trait that has paved the way for Lewis to be in this interim title fight—that being his hands made of brick concrete. When the train comes barreling down the tracks you best be getting out of the way. Lewis likes to wait for his opponents to get a little too comfortable with their range before they get a step too close into the danger zone. He will throw some occasional head kicks but really only uses them to disrupt the flow of his opponent and at least have the thought in the back of their mind. He can get a little lazy and lackadaisical on the ground and would much prefer the fight on the feet. In his last fight against Blaydes, Lewis did not check any of the leg kicks that were thrown his way. They started to take a toll and it was obvious it was causing him some discomfort.    

Summary– This fight will come down to distance. If Gane is able to control the distance in the fight then his speed will help him escape from any danger haymakers Lewis might throw. This is a type of fight that we could see Gane winning and be in complete control for 3 rounds and then all of a sudden take one shot from Lewis that puts him down and hands him the loss. Gane will need to stay calm and collected the entire fight and make sure he doesnt let the heat of the moment cause him to create one little mistake that ends it. Leg kicks can be a huge advantage for Gane if he uses them in a timely fashion and continues to wear and tear breaking down the big man Lewis. Another factor in this fight will be endurance. Both of Gane’s last two fights have lasted the full 25 minutes while Lewis has only twice in his career reached the 4th round. Once in 2016 against Abdurakhimov and another in 2017 against Hunt. So, we will have to see if Gane continues to wear and tear on Lewis breaking him down in the final two rounds. If Lewis is to pull off the upset he is going to have to push the pace at times and not wait for that one moment to strike. Gane is too quick and technical for Lewis to wait back on his heels with his back against the cage. 

Pick– I think Gane pulls this one out and continues his historic start to his UFC career. Although I think it’s too difficult to pick what round or how he does it. I’ll just enjoy the fight and find out Saturday night:)