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Ciryl Gane lifted heavyweight gold as he beat Derrick Lewis in the main event of UFC 265 to become the interim UFC heavyweight champion. However, he pointed out in the post-fight press conference that his vision was partially compromised due to Derrick Lewis' eye poke.
During the first round, both Ciryl Gane and Derrick Lewis complained about eye pokes from their opponents. It turned out that the alleged eye poke from Ciryl Gane was, in fact, a punch. However, the eye poke from Derrick Lewis caused Ciryl Gane to fight with blurred vision. Gane said in the post-fight press conference:
"My vision was blurry for all the fight"
Meanwhile, Derrick lewis, too, seemed to be struggling due to the blow dealt by Ciryl Gane over his left eye.
Ciryl Gane finished Derrick Lewis in round three
Ciryl Gane had said before the fight that he planned to move in and out, avoiding the one-punch power that Derrick lewis holds as much as possible. Tonight, Ciryl Gane carried that plan out to perfection.
Right from the start, Ciryl Gane was light on his feet. He used quick, dynamic motions to touch up Derrick Lewis without getting caught by one of his knockout strikes.
He also kept kicking Derrick Lewis' lead leg, thus reducing his ability to come out with a slamming strike out of nowhere. In round three, Ciryl Gane's consistent kicks finally broke through as one of the leg kicks staggered 'The Black Beast'. Gane then closed the distance to land a devastating flurry.
Although Lewis managed to stand his ground during the first flurry, Ciryl Gane charged again, making Lewis kneel against the cage with the overwhelming pressure and power of his strikes. The Frenchman then engaged in vicious ground-and-pound strikes until the referee called the contest to a stop.
Ciryl Gane won the fight via TKO at 4:11 of round three. He will fight UFC heavyweight champion Francis Ngannou next in a bid to unify the titles. The UFC has not provided a timeline for the event yet, but Dana White confirmed during the post-fight presser that the unification bout is definitely next on the cards.
