''UFC 265: Lewis vs. Gane'' was a
mixed martial arts
Mixed martial arts (MMA) is a full-contact fighting combat sport, sport based on strike (attack), striking and grappling; incorporating techniques from various combat sports from around the world.
In the early 20th century, various inter-s ...
event produced by the
Ultimate Fighting Championship
The Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) is an American mixed martial arts (MMA) promoter (entertainment), promotion company based in Las Vegas, Nevada. It is owned and operated by TKO Group Holdings, a majority owned subsidiary of Endeavor ( ...
that took place on August 7, 2021, at the
Toyota Center
Toyota Center is an indoor arena located in Houston, Texas, United States. It is named after the Japanese automobile manufacturer Toyota. The arena is home to the Houston Rockets of the National Basketball Association (NBA), and it was once th ...
in
Houston
Houston ( ) is the List of cities in Texas by population, most populous city in the U.S. state of Texas and in the Southern United States. Located in Southeast Texas near Galveston Bay and the Gulf of Mexico, it is the county seat, seat of ...
,
Texas
Texas ( , ; or ) is the most populous U.S. state, state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States. It borders Louisiana to the east, Arkansas to the northeast, Oklahoma to the north, New Mexico to the we ...
, United States.
Background
An interim
UFC Heavyweight Championship
Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) champions are fighters who have won UFC championships.
Historical notes
At the time of the UFC's inception in 1993, mixed martial arts was not sanctioned in the United States, and did not include weight clas ...
bout between former title challenger
Derrick Lewis
Derrick James Lewis (born February 7, 1985) is an American professional mixed martial artist. He currently competes in the Heavyweight division of the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC), where he currently holds the record for most knockouts i ...
and
Ciryl Gane
Ciryl Romain Jacky Gane (born April 12, 1990) is a French professional mixed martial artist and former Muay Thai fighter. He currently competes in the Heavyweight division of the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC), where he is a former Interi ...
headlined the event.
The original plan was to feature current champion
Francis Ngannou
Francis Zavier Ngannou (born 5 September 1986) is a Cameroonian and French professional mixed martial artist and professional boxer who currently competes in the Heavyweight division of the Professional Fighters League (PFL), where he is the in ...
defending his title against Lewis, but the promotion opted to move forward with the interim contest due to the alleged refusal of the champion to defend it in August (despite winning the championship just over four months earlier and claiming he was available for his first defense in September).
A
UFC Women's Bantamweight Championship
Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) champions are fighters who have won UFC championships.
Historical notes
At the time of the UFC's inception in 1993, mixed martial arts was not sanctioned in the United States, and did not include weight classe ...
bout between the current champion
Amanda Nunes
Amanda Lourenço Nunes (born May 30, 1988) is a Brazilian professional mixed martial artist. She currently competes in the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC), where she is the former UFC Women's Featherweight Champion and two-time UFC Women ...
(also the current
UFC Women's Featherweight Champion) and
The Ultimate Fighter: Team Rousey vs. Team Tate bantamweight winner
Julianna Peña
Julianna Peña (born August 19, 1989) is an American professional mixed martial artist who competes in the women's Bantamweight division of the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC), where she is a former two-time UFC Women's Bantamweight Champio ...
was expected to take place at the event.
However on July 29, the bout was pulled due to Nunes
testing positive for COVID-19. The bout was rescheduled for
UFC 269
''UFC 269: Oliveira vs. Poirier'' was a mixed martial arts event produced by the Ultimate Fighting Championship that took place on December 11, 2021, at the T-Mobile Arena in Paradise, Nevada, part of the Las Vegas Metropolitan Area, United State ...
.
Johnny Muñoz Jr.
Johnny Muñoz Jr (born February 16, 1993) is an American mixed martial arts, mixed martial artist who competes in the Bantamweight (MMA), Bantamweight division. A professional since 2015, he is most notable for his stint in the Ultimate Fighting C ...
and Jamey Simmons were expected to meet in a bantamweight bout at
UFC 261
''UFC 261: Usman vs. Masvidal 2'' was a mixed martial arts event produced by the Ultimate Fighting Championship that took place on April 24, 2021 at VyStar Veterans Memorial Arena in Jacksonville, Florida, United States.
Background
The promoti ...
, but the latter pulled out due to undisclosed reasons. They were later rescheduled for this event.
A middleweight bout between
Uriah Hall
Uriah Alexander Hall (born July 31, 1984) is a Jamaican-American former professional Mixed martial arts, mixed martial artist, Kickboxing, kickboxer, and current Professional boxing, boxer. He competed in the Middleweight (MMA), Middleweight divi ...
and
Sean Strickland
Sean Thomas Strickland (born February 27, 1991) is an American professional mixed martial artist. He currently competes in the Middleweight division of the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC), where he is a former UFC Middleweight Champion. ...
was expected to take place at this event. However, the pairing was moved to the week prior and headlined
UFC on ESPN: Hall vs. Strickland.
A women's strawweight rematch between
Tecia Torres
Tecia Moncaio; born August 16, 1989, is an American mixed martial artist who is currently competing in the women's Strawweight division of the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC). As of May 6, 2025, she is #13 in the UFC women's strawweight r ...
and former
Invicta FC Strawweight Champion Angela Hill
Angela Patrice Hill (born January 12, 1985) is an American mixed martial artist who competes in the women's Strawweight division of the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC). She was formerly signed with the Invicta Fighting Championships, where ...
took place at this event.
The pairing met previously at
UFC 188
''UFC 188: Velasquez vs. Werdum'' was a mixed martial arts event held on June 13, 2015, at Arena Ciudad de México in Mexico City, Mexico.
Background
The event was headlined by a UFC Heavyweight Championship unification bout between current cham ...
in June 2015, when Torres won by unanimous decision. The rematch was originally scheduled to take place in December 2020 at
UFC 256
''UFC 256: Figueiredo vs. Moreno'' was a mixed martial arts event produced by the Ultimate Fighting Championship that took place on December 12, 2020 at the UFC Apex facility in Enterprise, Nevada, part of the Las Vegas Metropolitan Area, United ...
, but Hill
tested positive for COVID-19 during the week leading up to the event and was removed from the bout.
A bantamweight bout between
Miles Johns
Miles Xavier Johns (born March 30, 1994) is an American mixed martial artist who competes in the Bantamweight division of the Ultimate Fighting Championship. A professional since 2014, he has also formerly competed for Legacy Fighting Alliance whe ...
and
Anderson dos Santos took place at this event.
The pair was scheduled to meet at
UFC on ESPN: Makhachev vs. Moisés, but it was removed just hours before the show due to COVID-19 protocol issues stemming from dos Santos' camp.
At the weigh-ins, former
Rizin Bantamweight Champion Manel Kape
Manuel Pedro Gomes (born November 14, 1993), known as Manel Kape, is an Angolan-born Portuguese professional mixed martial artist. He currently competes in the Flyweight division of the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC). A professional since ...
weighed in at 129 pounds, three pounds over the flyweight non-title fight limit. His bout proceeded at a catchweight and he forfeited 20% of his purse to his opponent
Ode' Osbourne.
Results
Bonus awards
The following fighters received $50,000 bonuses.
*Fight of the Night: Rafael Fiziev vs. Bobby Green
*Performance of the Night: Ciryl Gane, Vicente Luque, Jessica Penne, and Miles Johns
See also
*
List of UFC events
List of UFC events is a list of events held and scheduled by the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC), a mixed martial arts promotion based in the United States. UFC's first event, UFC 1, took place on November 12, 1993. Each UFC event contains ...
*
List of current UFC fighters
This list of current UFC fighters records current Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) fighters' information, country origins, recent fighter signings and departures, fight schedules and results and the champion of each division. , the UFC roster c ...
*
2021 in UFC
References
{{2021 in mixed martial arts
Ultimate Fighting Championship flagship events
2021 in mixed martial arts
August 2021 sports events in the United States
Mixed martial arts events in Houston
Sports competitions in Houston
2021 in sports in Texas