Ciryl Gane finished Derrick Lewis in the third round of the UFC 265 main event
Ciryl Gane finished Derrick Lewis in the third round of the UFC 265 main event | Photo by Josh Hedges/Zuffa LLC

Ciryl Gane just finished Derrick Lewis in the third round of the UFC 265 main event.

The UFC 265 main event saw the promotion's #3 ranked heavyweight, Ciryl Gane, stop the #2 ranked, Derrick Lewis, with an accumulation of strikes in the third round. Gane was in control pretty much the whole time. He was commanding the range, using his long weapons and active footwork to neutralize his foe. He also refused to give Lewis many of the opportunities he needed to pull out a big shot. Ciryl remains undefeated and extends his unblemished record to 10-0. Oh, he also won a dubious interim title, and will likely have a unification match with the actual champion, Francis N'Gannou.

Gane slowly pressed forward, holding range with Lewis backed up almost all the way to the cage. Lewis tried to find ways on the inside, but Gane was using his long range weapons, like leg kicks, to keep Derrick on the outside. Then, Lewis landed a kick to the cup, causing a momentary pause in the match. Gane went right back to kicking the leg upon the restart, and none of them were blocked. The round ended with what seemed like a mutual eye poke from punches.

Lewis opened the second stanza with a jumping switch kick, followed by him connecting with a thudding leg kick. Gane signaled to the referee that he was poked in the eye again, but the official had them fight on. The fight went to the cage for a bit, with Gane scoring with knees to the body from the clinch. Lewis was losing everywhere.

Gane went back to his leg kicks in the third round. Lewis still wasn't blocking them in any way, and he wasn't countering them with anything either. The leg damage was adding up and Derrick was visibly hurt. That's when Gane started to turn it up. He uncorked a flurry of punches that briefly dropped Lewis, and after eating a Hail Mary haymaker, he sent Lewis back down with another combo. A brief barrage of ground and pound landed before the referee called it off.

Ciryl Gane def. Derrick Lewis by TKO at 4:11 of round 3: Heavyweight