Ciryl Gane defeated Derrick Lewis by third round TKO at UFC 265 Saturday night to take home the interim heavyweight title, spoiling Lewis’ return to his hometown of Houston, Texas.
The undefeated Gane (10-0) was in control from start to finish, using speed and smarts to dodge Lewis’ dangerous attacks that flattened previous opponents. He now likely moves on to fight heavyweight champion Francis Ngannou if he and the UFC can rebuild a bridge that was burned in failed negotiations with Jon Jones and then this fight being made.
The beginning of the end came in the third round when Gane landed a kick flush to Lewis’ lead leg. Lewis was clearly which allowed the confident Gane to come inside with a jab that opened up a two-punch combo that opened up the door. He landed hard uppercuts to a covered up Lewis who still tried to fight back with power uppercuts and pull off another incredible upset.
It was not to be as Gane evaded those shots and landed a head kick to a waning Lewis who eventually slumped after a punch to his left eye that he was complaining earlier was poked. After some heavy hammer punches from Gane to a covered up Lewis, the fight was stopped.
This was Gane’s sixth UFC fight since debuting in August 2019. The loss snapped a four-fight win streak for Lewis who was getting his second UFC heavyweight title opportunity.
Welcome to F4WOnline.com’s live coverage of UFC 265: Lewis vs. Gane, emanating from the Toyota Center in Houston, Texas.
The Octagon makes a quick return to Houston after hosting UFC 262 in May, with this event headlined by a hometown hero looking to strap some UFC gold around his waist, albiet not an official undisputed title.
Houston’s own Derrick Lewis will take on Ciryl Gane in a bout for the Interim UFC Heavyweight Championship in the main event. This fight came together after UFC Heavyweight Champion Francis Ngannou was unavailable to fight on this show, and the promotion was heavily criticized for putting this together. Lewis comes into this fight riding a four-fight win streak, while Gane is undefeated in his career. Gane, though, is coming in on a short camp, as he just fought six weeks ago.
In the co-main event, former UFC and WEC Featherweight Champion and future Hall Of Famer Jose Aldo takes on Pedro Munhoz in a bantamweight bout that will keep the winner in the title picture. Also on the main card is a pivotal welterweight bout between Michael Chiesa and Vicente Luque, a strawweight rematch between Tecia Torres and Angela Hill, and a battle of bantamweight prospects as Song Yadong battles Casey Kenney.
Follow along with our live coverage of the event beginning at 6 p.m. Eastern time with preliminary action all the way through the main card.
We are looking for your thoughts on tonight’s event, so send a thumbs up, a thumbs down or a thumbs in the middle along with a best fight and a worst fight to Dave at [email protected].
ESPN2 PRELIMS | 6 PM ET/3 PM PT
> Johnny Munoz (10-1, 0-1 UFC) vs. Jamey Simmons (7-3, 0-1 UFC) Bantamweights
Both looking for openings early on. Munoz connects and tries to grab the body but can’t. Neither able to find a home for the jab. Simmons lands a right hand. Simmons with a left hook. Simmons landing more as both have still be unable to connect. Munoz with a hard leg kick. Munoz was trying to duck for a takedown and Simmons landed and Munoz was on his butt for a moment. Simmons with a leg kick. Munoz lands a couple of left hands. Munoz with a side kick to the body and then an inside leg kick. Munoz ducks under a punch and gets a takedown and goes to work from the top. Simmons with some punches from the bottom as Munoz is in the guard and ends with the neck as they scramble up. 10-9 Munoz.
Munoz with a leg kick and then lands another. Munoz drops down and gets another takedown and is working in the half-guard. Munoz gets the back and is working for a choke. He flattens Simmons out and lands but Simmons trying to defend now. Munoz still working for the choke and has it in. Simmons fights out but Munoz still has the back. He has it locked in again and Simmons taps! Munoz with the submission win.
Official Result- Johnny Munoz def. Jamey Simmons by submission (rear-naked choke) at 2:35 of Round 2
> Victoria Leonardo (8-3, 0-1 UFC) vs. Melissa Gatto (6-0-2, 0-0 UFC) Women’s Flyweights
They trade leg kicks to start. Leonardo with a high kick. Gatto with a combo and Leonardo fires back. Gatto with a leg kick and a body kick as Leonardo lands a right hand. They clinch and Gatto pushes it against the fence. Gatto with a knee. Gatto with another knee as she gets Leonardo down but Leonardo reverses to the top. Gatto working for an armbar. Gatto now has the back. Gatto working for a choke but Leonardo able to reverse into guard. Gatto landing some punches from the bottom as not much is happening. Leonardo with a couple of left hands as they get up. They clinch and Leonardo tries a trip but no success. They break and Leonardo with a body kick. 10-9 Gatto.
Leonardo landing kicks early. Gatto with a couple of leg kicks. Leonardo lands a right hand. Gatto with a nice right hand. Gatto with another right hand. They trade jabs. Gatto with a combo. They both land in close range. Leonardo with a leg kick. Gatto with an inside leg kick. Gatto with a quick combo and then lands a nice right hand. Leonardo with a body kick. Gatto landing and Leonardo shoots for a takedown but Gatto defends. Gatto lands a right hand that sends Leonardo to the mat but Leonardo gets up and they clinch. They break and Gatto landing more as she’s pressuring. Leonardo tries a takedown again and they tie up. They break. Leonardo with a body kick and Gatto with a leg kick. Gatto lands a combo. 10-9 Gatto, 20-18 Gatto.
They stopped the fight in between rounds. Leonardo told her corner her arm wasn’t working and the doctor checked on her and stopped it. She likely has a broken arm. Gatto gets the win.
Official Result- Melissa Gatto def. Victoria Leonardo by TKO (doctor stoppage) at 5:00 of Round 2
> Miles Johns (11-1, 2-1 UFC) vs. Anderson Dos Santos (21-8, 1-2 UFC) Bantamweights
Dos Santos with a high kick to start.Johns with a leg kick. Johns connects as Dos Santos rushes in. Dos Santos with a leg kick. They trade and Johns lands a left hook. Johns with a leg kick. Johns lands a left hand and then a leg kick that trips Dos Santos up. Johns with a jab. Johns lands the left hand. Dos Santos lands a nice right hand. Johns with the jab and a leg kick. Johns with another left hand. Johns with a combo. Johns landing some hard punches as Dos Santos is coming forward but just eating shots. Johns with a combo. Johns with a front calf kick. 10-9 Johns.
Johns lands a left hand. Johns lands some hard punches. Johns with a right hand. Johns landing more as Dos Santos is coming forward but his legs are hurt and he’s just eating shots and not landing. Johns with a right hand. Johns with two hard right hands. Johns lands again and Dos Santos looks for a takedown against the fence. Johns lands a knee then two right hands as they break. Johns drops Dos Santos with a punch but Dos Santos gets up. Johns with a right hand. Johns with a left hand to the body. Dos Santos is trying hard for the takedown but eating punches every time he shoots. Johns lands as Dos Santos was taunting him. Johns with a leg kick. Johns with a hard combo. 10-9 Johns, 20-18 Johns.
They trade to start the third and Johns landing harder. Johns lands a hard combo. Dos Santos is landing some punches but Johns still landing. Johns then lands a vicious right hand that knocks Dos Santos out cold. What a finish by Johns!
Official Result- Miles Johns def. Anderson Dos Santos by knockout (punch) at 1:16 of Round 3
> Manel Kape (15-6, 0-2 UFC) vs. Ode Osbourne (9-3, 1-1 UFC) Flyweights* (Kape missed weight by three pounds)
Kape lands a combo. Both looking to land. Kape lands some leg kicks and Osbourne grabs the leg and almost gets a takedown. Osbourne tries for a tricky takedown attempt but Kape defends. Kape still landing kicks. Osbourne not able to find any openings as his strikes keep missing. Osbourne comes in and Kape lands a flying knee that sends him to the mat and after a couple of shots this one is over. What a finish by Kape.
Official Result- Manel Kape def. Ode Osbourne by knockout (flying knee & punches) at 4:44 of Round 1
Kowalkiewicz with an inside leg kick. They trade in close range. Kowalkiewicz with another leg kick. Penne tries a front kick to the body and Kowalkiewicz catches it and pushes Penne to the ground and gets on top. They scramble up and Penne gets a takedown. Kowalkiewicz with some elbows from the bottom as Penne stands and lands a right hand. Kowalkiewicz with some punches from the bottom as Penne stands again. Kowalkiewicz now throwing upkicks. She lands one and Penne lands some punches as she gets back on top. Penne landing more as Kowalkiewicz is trying for a leg lock. Penne circling out and then gets the back. Penne looking for an armbar. Kowalkiewicz defending hard. Kowalkiewicz picks Penne up and slams her down but Penne still attacking the arm. Penne has itlocked in now and Kowalkiewicz taps! Nice work to get the finish by Penne.
Official Result- Jessica Penne def. Karolina Kowalkiewicz by submission (armbar) at 4:32 of Round 1
> Alonzo Menifield (10-2, 3-2 UFC) vs. Ed Herman (26-14 1 NC, 13-10 1 NC UFC) Light Heavyweights
They are both swinging early and neither really landing. Menifield lands the jab. Herman lands the jab. Menifield lands a jab. Menifield landing more throughout the first but both being pretty patient. Menifield with a nice leg kick. They trade leg kicks and Menifield looked to land the harder one. Menifield with another leg kick. Menifield lands a punch and Herman taunts him. Menifield with a leg kick. Menifield lands a punch and Herman again taunts. 10-9 Menifield.
Both swinging hard to start the second. Herman lands a little uppercut. Menifield with a right hand. Menifield lands a hard combo. Menifield throws a kick and slips and Herman tries to get the back but they scramble up. They trade hard punches. Menifield landing big punches in close range and he’s teeing off with hard shots. Herman somehow ate them. Herman lands some punches and they break. Menifield with a right hand. Menifield with a hard left hand. Menifield with a combo. Herman is coming forward but eating shots. Menifield with a leg kick. Menifield with another hard leg kick. Menifield lands a leg kick late that trips Herman to the mat. 10-9 Menifield, 20-18 Menifield.
Menifield landing in the clinch early and he takes Herman down and is in side control landing from the top. They get up and Menifield is pressuring. Herman threw a kick and almost fell but the fence kept him up. Menifield with a leg kick. Herman swinging but unable to really connect. Menifield with a high kick. Herman still coming at Menifield but Menifield landing lots of punches. Herman lands a combo. Herman lands a nice left hand. Menifield with the jab. 10-9 Menifield, 30-27 Menifield.
Official Result- Alonzo Menifield def. Ed Herman by unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27)
Morales pushing forward to start. Morales lands a left hand. Morales lands a combo. Rodriguez with a leg kick. Morales with a right hand to the body. They trade in close range. Morales with a right hand and Rodriguez counters with a jab. They trade in close range. Morales with a right hand. They are both throwing but neither really landing. Morales goes for a takedown but Rodriguez defends.Morales with a body kick and they trade inside the pocket at the end. 10-9 Morales.
Rodriguez lands somekicks and Morales gets him to the mat off one but they get up. They trade and clinch and both land in some dirty boxing. Rodriguez trying for the takedown as Morales goes to a knee. They get up and Rodriguez still working for the takedown. Rodriguez briefly gets Morales down and had the back for a second but they stand. They break. Rodriguez did get credit for three takedowns there. They trade in close range. Rodriguez with a leg kick and then a combo. Rodriguez lands as he circles away. Morales coming forward and lands a right hand. 10-9 Rodriguez, 19-19.
Morales pressing forward and lands a right hand. Rodriguez lands a right hand. They both land in close range. Morales with a right hand and Rodriguez circling away. Rodriguez with a right hand. Rodriguez lands a combo and goes for a takedown but Morales defends. Morales lands a coiple of right hands and Rodriguez tries hard for the takedown. Morales tries for a takedown against the fence but Rodriguez defends. Both just throwing but neither really landing. Rodriguez with a leg kick. Morales with a left hand. Rodriguez lands a nice right hand. They trade at the end. Close fight. 10-9 Morales, 29-28 Morales.
Official Result- Vince Morales def. Drako Rodriguez by unanimous decision (30-27, 29-28, 29-28)
> Bobby Green (27-11-1, 8-6-1 UFC) vs. Rafael Fiziev (9-1, 3-1 UFC) Lightweights
Fiziev just barely connects on a kick. He lands a leg kick. Fiziev with a leg kick as Green misses a left hand. Fiziev landing kicks. Green with a left hand to the body. Green lands a quick right hand. Fiziev with a leg kick. Green with a left hand and Fiziev with a leg kick. Fiziev lands a punch. Green lands a left hand. Green lands a left. Fiziev misses some punches as Green was circling away. They exchange in close range. Fiziev with an inside elbow. Green lands a left hand. Fiziev with another body kick. Green with a body kick. Fiziev with a leg kick. They trade in close range. Fiziev with two leg kicks. Close round. 10-9 Fiziev.
They trade at the start. Both land in close range. They clinch and Fiziev lands as they break. Fiziev with a body kick. Fiziev with a couple of leg kicks. Fiziev with a leg kick. Fiziev with a quick combo. Fiziev with a hard leg kick. Fiziev lands a flurry against the fence but Green able to escape. Fiziev with a body kick. Fiziev lands a head kick and then a left hand. Green eats it and fires back and they both land before a brief clinch and break. Fiziev with a body kick. Fiziev with some leg kicks and then a right hand. They trade in close range. Fiziev landign kicks and they are both firing punches as Green is telling Fiziev to hit him. It was a wild exchange and they clinched before breaking. Fiziev lands a hard body kick. They exchange big punches. Green with some right hands and then a jab. They trade late. This is a wild fight. 10-9 Fiziev, 20-18 Fiziev.
Fiziev with an early leg kick and Green lands a combo. They trade body kicks. Green with a body kick. Green lands a left hand. Fiziev with a right hand and they have a wild exchange. Fiziev landing some leg kicks and now they’re teeing off on each other with punches. Green with a left hand. Green with the jab. Green with a combo. Fiziev with a leg kick. They trade punches and Green popping the jab. They both land hard right hands. Green lands a combo. Fiziev with a head kick that Green just eats. They trade punches. Green with a combo. They both land in an exchange and Green lands some hard right hands. Fiziev with another head kick. Green lands some punches. Green lands a left and then a combo ending with a hard right hand. Green landing late. A great fight here. 10-9 Green, 29-28 Fiziev.
Official Result- Rafael Fiziev def. Bobby Green by unanimous decision (30-27, 29-28, 29-28)
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> Song Yadong (16-5-1 1 NC, 5-1-1 UFC) vs. Casey Kenney (16-3-1, 5-2 UFC) Bantamweights
Yadong lands two right hands. Yadong with a leg kick. Kenney lands a left hand. They trade and Yadong with some quick punches. Yadong with a right hand. Yadong with a hard body kick. Yadong with a combo. Kenney lands a left hand. Kenney lands a punch as he’s the one coming forward. Yadong with a combo. Yadong with a leg kick after Kenney misses some spinning attacks. Kenney lands as Yadong goes for a kick and Yadong goes to the mat and Kenney jumps on top but they scramble up. They trade late. 10-9 Yadong.
Yadong landing the jab to start the second. They trade in close range. Yadong with a combo. Yadong lands a left hook. Yadong with a body kick. They trade left hands. They trade leg kicks and Yadong lands a body kick. They trade and Yadong firing off quick punches. Yadong with a leg kick. Kenney coming forward but Yadong controlling the pace. Kenney shoots for a takedown but Yadong defends. Kenney with a body kick. Yadong lands the jab. They trade kicks. Kenney with a left hand. Yadong lands a right hand. Kenney with a combo and a body kick. 10-9 Yadong, 20-18 Yadong.
Kenney with some leg kicks to start the second. They’re tradin and Yadong lands a body kick. Kenney with a body kick. Yadong lands a right hand. They trade. Kenney lands a knee as Yadong grabs his leg. Yadong with a body kick. They trade in close range. Yadong with a combo. Kenney shoots for a takedown but Yadong defends and lands a right hand on the get up. Yadong with a combo as Kenney covers up. Kenney with a left hand and Yadong with a body kick. Kenney shoots for a takedown again but Yadong sprawls away again. Yadong lands to the body in close range. Kenney gets a late takedown and ends on top. 10-9 Yadong, 30-27 Yadong.
Official Result- Song Yadong def. Casey Kenney by split decision (28-29, 29-28, 30-27)
> Tecia Torres (#10, 12-5, 8-5 UFC) vs. Angela Hill (#12, 13-9, 8-9 UFC) Women’s Strawweights
Torres with a body kick. Torres landing a combo as Hill is unable to find an opening. Torres with another quick combo and then another. Torres with a kick and Hill grabs the leg and gets a takedown. Torres throwing upkicks to avoid Hill getting on top and uses the fence to get to her feet. Hill has the back standing and drags it down for a quick second but they get up. Hill with a knee to the body and they break. Hill with a right hand. Torres with a leg kick. Hill with a looping left hook and lands a body kick. Torres with a right hand and a side kick.They trade after briefly going to the ground. Torres with a series of punches in close range and then a couple of body kicks. Torres lands a hard right hand. Hill with a body kick and Torres with a right hand late. 10-9 Torres.
Torres lands a flurry early. Hill lands a left hand. They trade kicks. Torres landing to the body with kicks. Torres with a right hand and Hill lands as Torres had her back against the fence. Hill gets Torres’ back and has it down for a moment but they stand and Hill still has the back. They break and both are landing in close range and tie up and Torres lands on the break. Torres with a right hand and a high kick. Hill with a body kick and Torres with a combo ending with a leg kick. They trade in close range. Hill lands a spinning back fist. Torres with a combo but Hill gets her on the ground and ends the round on top. 10-9 Torres, 20-18 Torres.
Hull with a body kick. They trade kicks. Hill with a right hand. Torres with a body kick and right hand and they tie up against the fence. They both land as they break. Both landing in close range. They both land in close. Hill pushing forward and lands against the fence. Hill landing. Torres with a right hand and a leg kick. Hill lands a combo as Torres lands a combo. They trade in close. Torres with a combo. Hill tries a takedown against the fence but Torres defends. Torres gets a late takedown and lands some punches as they scramble up at the end. 10-9 Torres, 30-27 Torres.
Official Result- Tecia Torres def. Angela Hill by unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 29-28)
> Michael Chiesa (#5, 18-4, 11-4 UFC) vs. Vicente Luque (#6, 20-7-1, 13-3 UFC) Welterweights
Luque with a leg kick. Luque with another leg kick. Chiesa lands a left hand. Chiesa lands a nice left hand. Luque lands a right hand and Chiesa slips to the mat for a second. Chiesa gets a big takedown and is in the half-guard. Chiesa gets the back and is looking for the choke. He has it locked in but lets go. He goes back to work for it and has it locked in again. He lets go and is now trying for something else but Luque has the neck and looks for a D’arce choke. Chiesa taps! Wow, what a reversal by Luque to get Chiesa to tap.
Official Result- Vicente Luque def. Michael Chiesa by submission (D’Arce choke) at 3:25 of Round 1
> Jose Aldo (#5, 29-7, 11-6 UFC) vs. Pedro Munhoz (#9, 19-5 1 NC, 9-5 1 NC) Bantamweights
Munhoz with a spin kick to start. Munhoz with a leg kick. Munhoz coming forward and landing leg kicks as Aldo is trying to find an opening. Munhoz with more leg kicks and Aldo lands a left hook. They trade in close range. They trade in close range. Aldo landing the jab and lands a right hand to the body. Aldo rips to the body just as Munhoz misses a right hand. Aldo with a right hand as Munhoz lands a leg kick. Aldo with a combo. Munhoz with some leg kicks. Munhoz lands a right hand. Close round. 10-9 Munhoz.
They trade leg kicks. Aldo with a right hand. They trade in close range. Aldo rips to the body and Munhoz lands a leg kick. Munhoz with a right hand. Aldo with the jab. Munhoz lands a right hand. Munhoz with a leg kick. Aldo with a left hook to the body and a right hand. Aldo with a combo. They trade in close. Aldo rips to the body. Aldo lands a couple of left hands. Munhoz landing leg kicks. They trade in close. Close round again. 10-9 Aldo, 19-19.
Aldo lands a flurry to start the third. Aldo landing some good shots as Munhoz comes forward. They clinch and Munhoz has the body against the fence but they break. Aldo with the jab. Aldo landing the jab more in close range. Munhoz with a leg kick. Aldo with a combo ending with a hard right hand. Aldo with a leg kick and Munhoz trips to the ground but gets up. Munhoz with an inside leg kick and Aldo lands a leg kick. Aldo lands a right hand. Aldo with a leg kick. Munhoz is hurting and having trouble with his stance. Aldo with a left hook. Aldo with another hard leg kick and lands a big combo. Good fight. 10-9 Aldo, 29-28 Aldo.
Official Result- Jose Aldo def. Pedro Munhoz by unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27)
> Derrick Lewis (#2, 25-7 1 NC, 16-5 UFC) vs. Ciryl Gane (#3, 9-0, 6-0 UFC) Interim UFC Heavyweight Championship
Gane with some front side kicks to the legs. Lewis throws a high kick and slips but gets up. Lewis with a body kick. Gane with some leg kicks. Lewis being patient. Gane with the jab after he slips away from a Lewis attack. Gane with a leg kick. Gane with another. He lands another. We have a timeout after Lewis lands a kick to Gane’s groin. We get back to action and Lewis tries to land but Gane lands a high kick. Gane lands a kick and Lewis tried to take his head off but Gane able to circle out. Gane with a body kick. Gane with a body kick. Gane with a combo and then a leg kick. Referee missed an eye poke. Both did nothing after since both knew. 10-9 Gane.
Gane with some kicks right to the kneecap of Lewis. Lewis tries a jumping switch kick but Gane blocks. Gane with a leg kick. Gane with a right hand. Lewis lands a right hand and they clinch but break. Lewis with a body kick. Gane with a body kick. They clinch. Gane landing knees to the legs and they break. Gane with a leg kick. Gane with another leg kick. They clinch and Gane with some shoulder strikes and an elbow over the top as they break. 10-9 Gane, 20-18 Gane.
Gane with a leg kick. He lands another. Gane with an overhand right. Gane with another leg kick. Gane with another leg kick. Lewis with a body kick. Gane with a front kick to the body. They clinch against the fence. They break. Gane with a leg kick. Gane with a combo and Lewis is in trouble. Gane landing big shots as Lewis is covering up and they clinch. Lwewis lands an uppercut. Gane now teeing off and Lewis is covering up as he lost his mouth piece. He gets it back and Gane with a head kick. Gane landing and Lewis lands back. Gane lands a punch and Lewis falls to his knees and Gane with hammerfists until it is stopped. Big finish by Gane to win the interim title.
Official Result- Ciryl Gane def. Derrick Lewis by TKO (punches) at 4:11 of Round 3 to win the Interim UFC Heavyweight Championship
Bobby Eaton, one of the all-time greatest between the ropes
Jody Hamilton and the legend of the Assassins
Bray Wyatt and Ric Flair’s WWE departures
An update on how the biggest WWE & AEW shows upcoming are doing
WWE says AEW isn’t competition publicly and at the same time what was happening not publicly
Dragon Gate’s biggest shows of the year and the retirement of Masato Yoshino
A.J. McKee and the problems with the current set up in MMA
PWG returns
More detail on the ratings than any other source, how many different viewers the shows had, breakdown of who watches the shows, how they watch, DVR numbers and how long the average fan watches
Results of the major pro wrestling events of the past week
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FRIDAY NEWS UPDATE
Garrett Gonzalez and I will be talking about the news of the week tonight on Wrestling Observer Radio. Bryan and I will have a show Saturday and Monday nights.
Some Olympic wrestling highlights from today:
In an incredible match, Gable Steveson at 275 pounds scored a takedown with two-tenths of a second left to beat three-time world champion Geno Petriashvili of Georgia 10-8 earlier today. He did his backflip celebration when it was over. Petriashvili was up 8-5 with 20 seconds left and Steveson got one takedown and then got a second takedown to win.
Kyle Snyder at 213 pounds won his semifinal match over Suleyma Kradeniz of Turkey 5-0, so he faces one of the best wrestlers in the world, Abdulrashid Sadulaev, early tomorrow morning. The two have faced twice with each winning once. This is probably the biggest match of these Olympics with two gold medalists from 2016 facing off.
Kyle Dake at 163 pounds took the bronze medal beating Frank Chamizo of Italy 5-0.
Sara Hildebrant at 110 pounds will battle for the bronze medal tomorrow after losing to 2013 world champion Sun Yanan of China 10-7.
Jacarra Winchester at 117 pounds placed fifth.
All five men in the freestyle competition will be going home with medals.
The death of Bobby Eaton made the front page of the New York Post website (thanks to Barry Werner)
The Amalie Arena, where Smackdown takes place tonight, sent out a tweet noting that fans at the show are banned from taking any photos or videos and that failure to comply will result in ejection. After we noted this, they quickly took the tweet down. WWE has every right to ban people from shooting video. Obviously officials aren’t happy with so much footage getting out which shows crowd sweetening or downplaying chats for AEW and C.M. Punk. But they have every right to that. Banning photos to me is going over the line, but it is hard for security to distinguish between someone shooting video and shooting photos.
205 Live tonight on Peacock at 10 p.m. has Ari Sterling vs. Kushida and Grayson Waller vs. Leon Ruff.
UFC 265 is tomorrow night from the Toyota Center in Houston
ESPN 2 and ESPN+ airs prelims from 6-10 p.m. Eastern
Johnny Munoz (135.5) vs. Jamey Simmons (136)
Victoria Leonardo (125) vs. Melissa Gatto (124)
Miles Johns (136) vs. Anderson Dos Santos (135.5)
Manel Kape (129) vs. Ode Osbourne (125) – Kape missed weight and is forfeiting 20 percent of his purse to Osbourne.
Karolina Kowalkiewicz (115) vs. Jessica Penne (116)
Alonzo Menifield (204.5) vs. Ed Herman (205.5)
Vince Morales (136) vs. Drako Rodriguez (136)
Bobby Green (156) vs. Rafael Fiziev (155.5)
PPV at 10 p.m.
Song Yadong (135.5) vs. Casey Kenney (136)
Tecia Torres (115) vs. Angela Hill (115)
Michael Chiesa (170.5) vs. Vicente Luque (170)
Jose Aldo (136) vs. Pedro Munhoz (135)]
Derrick Lewis (264.5) vs. Ciryl Gane (247) for interim heavyweight title
There is a special edition of AEW Dark tonight. The idea is to get people ready for next Friday’s debut of Rampage.
New Japan Strong tonight at 10 p.m. on New Japan World
Kevin Knight vs. Alexander James
Alex Coughlin & Ren Narita vs. Rocky Romero & Fred Rosser
JR Kratos & Danny Limelight vs. Royce Isaacs & Jorel Nelson
New Japan has a Korakuen Hall show on New Japan World at 5:30 a.m.
Shingo Takagi & Tetsuya Naito & Sanada & Bushi vs. Tomohiro Ishii & Hirooki Goto & Yoshi-Hashi & Tomoaki Honma
Tiger Mask & Robbie Eagles vs Dick Togo & Gedo
Desperado & Yoshinobu Kanemaru vs. Master Wato & Ryusuke Taguchi
Sho & Yoh vs. El Phantasmo & Taiji Ishimori
The last three matches are first night of the Best of the Super Juniors tag team tournament
WWE
Catherine Alexander’s lawsuit against WWE and 2K for her tattoo art on Randy Orton behind used will go to trial next month in Southern Illinois. (thanks to Mike Kuzmuk)
UFC
Urijah Faber has said he has an interest in fighting again and talked about a match with Marlon “Chito” Vera.
Marcin Tybura vs. Alexander Volkov has been added to the 10/30 show in Abu Dhabi. There are talks of this show airing on ABC.
OTHER NOTES
Former WWE referee and hardcore star Drake Weurtz, who was fired recently, is now running for the Florida House of Representatives. He was also suspended by Twitter after saying that the corrupt cabal that runs twitter must be held accountable for attacking our first amendment rights.
Combate Global, which drew more than one million viewers on television Friday night and an 0.36 in 18-49, returns tonight on Paramount+ and Univision with a show from Miami. Ricky Bandejas (13-5) debuts in the main event against Troy Bartholomew (7-4) and Daniel Sanchez (2-0) vs. Eric Alequin (4-0) is the second from the top fight.
Melbourne, Australia is in another seven day lockdown so the PCW shows this weekend are canceled. The Melbourne Championship Wrestling show set for 8/14 has been moved to 9/24.
Fale Dojo has an exhibition show on 8/14 in Auckland, New Zealand while Aaron Henare’s Warrior Wrestling runs Auckland on 8/20 and 9/24.
Slam Pro Wrestling League’s debut show in Canberra, Australia has been moved from 8/28 to 12/4 due to interstate travel restrictions (thanks to Kevin Chiat)
The Stardom Five Star star Grand Prix continues with shows tomorrow and Sunday in Osaka. Tomorrow’s show has Giulia vs. Saki Kashima, Tam Nakano vs. Ruaka, AZM vs. Syuri and Utami Hayashishita vs Unagi Sayaka.
Seaway Valley Wrestling on 8/28 at 2 p.m. at the Cornwall minor league park in Cornwall, ONT.
Last week on Jeopardy there was a question asking the name of the man born James Janos who bodyslammed his way into becoming a governor. The contestant correctly answered “Who is Jesse Ventura?” (thanks to Grant Zwarych)
World Wrestle Fest on 8/20, 8/21 and 8/22 at The Nerd in Downtown Las Vegas on the second floor of Neonopolis. Appearing includes Kurt Angle, Sabu, Konnan, Madusa and Joey Janela.
LFA on 8/27 at The Factory at the District in St. Louis airing live on UFC Fight Pass. The main event is Bruno Souza (9-1) vs. Canaan Kawaihae (6-1) for the featherweight title.
Bare Knuckle Boxing on 8/20 in Biloxi, MS at the Gulf Coast Coliseum has Johnny Bedford vs; Reggie Barnett and Alan Belcher vs.Tony Lopez as the top fights.
AAW tomorrow night at 115 Bourbon Street in Merrionette Park, IL on FITE TV features Fred Yehi &? vs. Eddie Kingston & ?, Allysin Kay defends the women’s title against Melanie Cruise, inFamy defends the tag titles against Brayden Lee & Jake Lander and more.
Innovate Wrestling Fire on the Mountain on 8/14 in Kingsport, TN at the Civic Auditorium
NFC on 8/7 at District Atlanta.
WAR on 9/11 in Lima,OH at the Empowered Sports Center.
AIW on 8/27 at the Odeon Concert Club in Cleveland. They also run 8/28 in Parma, OH at First Stop at 4 p.m.
With Francis Ngannou unavailable to fight in the UFC’s desired timeframe, the promotion is moving forward with a Derrick Lewis vs. Ciryl Gane interim heavyweight title fight that will headline UFC 265 on August 7th.
ESPN’s Brett Okamoto first reported the news that Ngannou was unable to defend his title in June or August due to traveling and Dana White thought both Lewis and Gane were worthy of title shots.
Okamoto got a quote from Ngannou’s agent that said they were in complete shock about the news considering the history of the division. Ngannou tweeted, “I remember my interim title fight against Jairzinho …. oh wait: — a nod to his desire to have his May 2020 fight against Jair Rozenstruik for the interim title due to then-champion Stipe Miocic not wanting to fight due to COVID-19.
The last interim heavyweight title awarded was to Fabricio Werdum for his defeat of Mark Hunt at UFC 180 in November 2014.
Lewis (seen above) is riding a four-fight win streak and last knocked out Curtis Blaydes in February. Gane defeated Alexander Volkov on Saturday via unanimous decision to get his record to a perfect 9-0.
The event will be held in Houston, Texas — the hometown of Lewis. The co-main event features two-division champion Amanda Nunes defending the bantamweight title against Julianna Pena.
Ngannou defeated Stipe Miocic for the title by second round knockout in March. Discussions of a title fight vs. former light heavyweight champion Jon Jones stalled due to Jones asking for more money for the superfight and the UFC having no interest in meeting his demands.
