Derrick Lewis and Ciryl Gane have weighed in on the pressure of their interim UFC heavyweight title fight this weekend at UFC 265.
Lewis and Gane will look to capture the interim title in the main event of UFC 265 to set up a fight against current undisputed champion Francis Ngannou.
The former title challenger Lewis was linked to a fight with Ngannou following his knockout win against Curtis Blaydes in February, but instead the 'The Black Beast' was booked to fight Gane for the interim belt.
Both Lewis and Gane successfully made weight on Friday afternoon for their fight. Lewis weighed in at 264.5 pounds, almost twenty pounds heavier than Gane at 247 pounds.
Talking at the UFC 265 pre-fight press conference, Lewis and Gane discussed the magnitude their fight brings especially with a title on the line.
“There’s a little pressure, because Houston’s never had a heavyweight champion before. I want to be the first time. I want to make history and it’s gotta go down," Lewis said.
“I’m not concerned with nothing he’s got. It don’t matter who it is. They all gonna end up the same way, looking up at them lights.”
On his first title shot of his UFC career, Gane said: "It is a big opportunity for me. I’m a young guy, I have a young career, the UFC put me on the headline.
"I want to do this for me, for my country, for my team, and for my family, for my fans. I want to do my best for these guys.”
Who wins in the main event of UFC 265 between Lewis and Gane? Comment below
Lewis also took aim at a French reporter who asked him how it would feel to get beat by Gane in front of his home crowd.
“You’re going to have to excuse my French, but f*** you and f*** him,” Lewis said.
“Write that sh** down, take a picture. I don’t give a f***.”
Since being signed by the promotion in 2019, Gane was won six straight fights. 'Bon Gamin' has already won decisions against top contenders Alexander Volkov and Jairzinho Rozenstruik in 2021.
And touching on his fighting style, Gane said: "Some people like this style, but for me, it’s really not my style. When you look at guys like [Floyd] Mayweather or some fighter like this, nobody talks like that.
"But I’m a young fighter, I’m going do [it] my way, and people are going to like me like I am," he said.
Elsewhere on the UFC 265 card, former UFC featherweight kingpin Jose Aldo will fight fellow countryman Pedro Munhoz. Top welterweights Vincente Luque and Michael Chiesa will also square off on the main card.
