UFC 265 Takeaways: Gane's win muddles the heavyweight picture

UFC 265 gave us a new heavyweight champion, but Ciryl Gane’s win over Derrick Lewis may do the heavyweight division more harm than good. Here are five things we learned from Saturday night's action in Houston.

New paper champion muddles the heavyweight picture

Ciryl Gane made easy work of Derrick Lewis in the main event, stopping him in the third round to become the interim heavyweight champion.

The notion of Gane holding a title when Francis Ngannou won the recognized belt less than two months ago is absolutely ridiculous. By practically ignoring Ngannou’s win over Stipe Miocic, punishing him for not making a rapid defense of his title against Lewis, it creates a schism at heavyweight that devalues the title.

Gane certainly won the title Saturday night, but he’s not the champion. Before things get messier, Gane vs. Ngannou needs to happen next.

Aldo blessed with big options at bantamweight

Jose Aldo turned in a vintage performance at the expense of Pedro Munhoz, and it’s clear that the living legend has plenty left in the tank. With the rest of the division waiting on the rematch between Petr Yan and Aljamain Sterling scheduled for UFC 267 in October, Aldo has plenty of options. Right off the bat, there is no reason why Aldo shouldn’t face TJ Dillashaw or Cody Garbrandt in fights that would absolutely deliver.

Luque makes his case for a big fight

Make it twice in a row that Vicente Luque takes out a strong opponent with the dreaded D’arce choke.

Many expected Luque’s bout with Michael Chiesa to come down to Luque’s striking against Chiesa’s ground game, but Luque made it look easy. Usman or not, Luque should be in the mix for a big fight. Lucrative bouts with Jorge Masvidal, Leon Edwards, or even Gilbert Burns would make for excellent bouts as Usman prepares for his rematch with Colby Covington.

Tecia Torres settled the score with Angela Hill

Angela Hill had to wait five years to avenge what she considered to be an unbecoming loss to Torres, but history repeated itself as Torres won a commanding decision.

Both ladies needed this one badly, but Torres wanted it more as she picked her spots and dominated Hill. Torres has now won four in a row after losing four straight, whereas Hill now sinks to 2-3 over her last five fights.

The prelims set the pace

Loyalists who watched all the preliminary bouts were treated to some excellent moments. Fans saw the best stoppage of the night when Miles John sent Anderson Dos Santos to lala-land with a booming overhand right. Fans also saw a gruesome stoppage when Melissa Gatto handed Victoria Leonardo her second straight defeat by breaking her arm. The best moment of all, however, occurred during Rafael Fiziev’s impressive win over Bobby Green.