The Ultimate Fighting Championship awarded six fighters with post-fight bonuses following Saturday’s UFC 265 pay-per-view event.
Fight of the Night: Rafael Fizeiv vs Bobby Green
Lightweights Rafael Fiziev and Bobby Green closed out the UFC 265: Lewis vs Gane prelims with an absolute show. For three rounds the two traded both strikes and words as they duked it out in the Octagon.
Fiziev started strong, throwing heavy kicks and forcing Green to retreat to the fence. And while that was the theme for most of the fight, Green was slippery in his defence and landing with plenty of accuracy. Green’s counter strikes and jabs added up, especially in the third round. But it was Fiziev’s strong showing in the first rounds that made the difference in the fight.
Fiziev’s heavy output and his pressure were enough to get it done despite a strong third round from Green. Both lightweights pushed the pace for all 15 minutes and made sure to put on a show for the fight fans in Houston.
Performance of the Night: Ciryl Gane
France’s Ciryl Gane put on a technically proficient and dominant performance to capture the interim title over Derrick Lewis. “Bon Gamin” seemed unbothered in enemy territory, sticking to his usual gameplan of sharp footwork and smooth striking, puzzling Houston’s Lewis and rendering him rather hesitant to strike. Eventually, Gane’s commitment to the low kicks left Lewis as a prone target, and Gane bullrushed his way to a 3rd-round win, setting up a date with former teammate Frances Ngannou to unify the title.
UFC 265 Results: Ciryl Gane TKOs Derrick Lewis for interim heavyweight title in main event
Performance of the Night: Vicente Luque
“The Silent Assassin” was in prime form against Michael Chiesa, flipping the script on the grappler and locking in a signature D’Arce choke in the first round. Luque spent the early part of the opening frame chasing Chiesa down, but he found himself in a tough spot when Chiesa took his back. Methodically, Luque worked out of the spot, and when Chiesa left his neck out during a scramble, Luque took advantage. The win sets up a top-5 matchup or even a title shot for Luque, who extended his winning streak to four.
Performance of the Night: Miles Johns
Johns put together a well-measured, sharp striking performance to earn his 12th professional victory over Anderson dos Santos. He utilized plenty of sharp jabs and heavy leg kicks to immobilize dos Santos, and he kept the pressure on until the third round when he started to sit down on his strikes more. After a few thudding body shots, Johns followed one left to the body with a right hand that dropped Dos Santos and ended the fight early in round three.
Performance of the Night: Jessica Penne
Jessica Penne scored her second win in as many fights with a first-round submission over Karolina Kowalkiewicz. When Penne hit the Canvas and dared her opponent to follow her, she took advantage when Kowalkiewicz obliged. Eventually, Penne found her way to an armbar, and despite feisty defense from Kowalkiewicz, Penne methodically locked up the submission and the win.
UFC 265 Bonuses: Six fighters awarded $50,000 checks
