Derrick Lewis and Ciryl Gane have different reactions running through their minds in the immediate aftermath of being booked to fight for the interim heavyweight title at UFC 265.
Lewis, who will get the opportunity to claim the interim strap in his hometown of Houston in the Aug. 7 headliner at Toyota Center, wasn’t as concerned about the significance of the moment for his career or anything of that sort.
The first thing “The Black Beast” had to say was that people need to back off with ticket requests for the fight because he’s got nothing left to give (via Instagram):
“For everyone that keeps asking me, I’m out of tickets. Tickets sold out, man. So, don’t call me, tickets are gone. Already sold out. I don’t have any more comp tickets, man. They gone!”
For Lewis (25-7 MMA, 16-5 UFC), the fact that he’s competing at UFC 265 isn’t much of a surprise. The UFC had been targeting him to fight in Houston for some time, but the expectation was he would be challenging Francis Ngannou for the undisputed title. The promotion couldn’t get a deal done with Ngannou (16-3 MMA, 11-2 UFC) for the event, though, so it shifted plans and put Gane into the fight with an interim belt attached.
Gane (9-0 MMA, 6-0 UFC), who is just two days removed from beating Alexander Volkov in the UFC Fight Night 190 headliner, was an unexpected change. His inclusion has caused some emotional responses from the MMA community, but he’s not to blame in this scenario.
In his first comments since the fight was made, Gane emphasized that he’s in no position to turn down this type of opportunity (via Instagram):
I never say no to challenges. 🏆
Thank you @managementfactory for this supersonic rise.
@lopez_fernand, we got work to do !#AnyoneAnywhere
