The countdown is officially on for MMA fans all over the world. That’s because UFC 265 has been scheduled for Aug. 7, with the event set to take place at the Toyota Center in Houston, Texas. The main event is no doubt Cyril Gane going up against Derrick Lewis. In this piece, we have our futures picks for UFC 265 in Houston, which will be a must-see for everyone.
Ciryl Gane is now a big-time favourite over Derrick Lewis
With fans still fired up about UFC 263 and UFC 264, Ciryl Gane is now a big-time favourite over Derrick Lewis to headline UFC 265. This shouldn’t come as a big surprise, as Gane has been nothing short of fantastic in his UFC career. Entering the Aug. 7 matchup, Gane is a perfect 9-0. Meanwhile, for Lewis, he will enter the octagon against Gane at 25-7-0 in his career.
For Lewis, he doesn’t care whatsoever that he’s the underdog. The Las Vegas sportsbooks have given him 3.70 UFC odds, while Gane has been set at 1.30. Despite Gane being the clear favourite, Gane is confident he’ll be able to come away with the win thanks to his brilliant power. Having this kind of attitude sure is something to see from the heavyweight.
| UFC 265 odds |  |  |  |  |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Gane to win | 1.30 | 1.30 | 1.30 | 1.30 |
| Lewis to win | 3.70 | 3.70 | 3.70 | 3.70 |
| Nunes to win | 1.13 | 1.13 | 1.13 | 1.13 |
| Pena to win | 6.40 | 6.40 | 6.40 | 6.40 |
“I don’t care who it is,” Lewis said in an interview with MMA junkie. “Ciryl Gane, he’s a good opponent, he’s dangerous. He’s boring most of the time, but he’s smart. He’s a smart fighter, so it’s still gonna be a fun fight with me. It doesn’t matter if he’s gonna try and stay away and do all these little fancy kicks and stuff like that, but I’m still gonna have my moment in the fight.”
While Lewis is confident and thinks that he’ll be able to beat Gane, we don’t think that’s going to happen in this instance. Gane has showcased time and time again why he’s an elite fighter in the sport and that will surely continue going up against Lewis. In terms of us making a pick for these two at UFC 265, we simply have to rock with Gane.
Amanda Nunes will have no issues taking down Julianna Pena
In the co-main event, Amanda Nunes will have no issues taking down Julianna Pena in their battle. The expectation is that the Brazilian superstar (1.13 odds) will waste little time in reminding Pena why she’s one of the best fighters the UFC has ever seen. Nunes will enter that showdown with a 21-4-0 mark. As for Pena, she’s 11-4-0 with the gloves on.
In her last fight, Nunes met up with Megan Anderson at UFC 259. In that fight, Nunes really was sensational and got Anderson on the ground early on in things. The next thing you knew, the meeting was over, as Nunes was able to record a first-round submission. As for Pena, she went toe-to-toe with Sara McMann and came out victorious with a third-round submission. Now, she’ll have Nunes in front of her, but she’s not scared.
“To me, it was the only fight that made sense (Nunes and Pena), and the only way to get the fight was to speak up and let that be known,” Pena said. “It may have sounded like I was trying to trash talk her, but the little mouth of the south over here had to do what I had to do to get the fight.”
Pena (6.40 odds) indeed got the fight she was hoping for, but she’s got quite the uphill climb ahead to try and record an upset. We don’t think that will happen, as there’s no doubt we’re going with Nunes as our pick. She is too smart of a fighter to let this kind of an upset be recorded. Do you agree with us? If so, be sure to check out our CanadaSportsBetting partners to get a wager in.
Jose Aldo won’t let Pedro Muhnoz take him down
Last but not least, Jose Aldo won’t let Pedro Muhnoz take him down when they exchange blows. While Aldo hasn’t been fighting as much of late, he put on a show at UFC Fight Night in December of 2020 going up against Marlon Chito Vera. In that one, Aldo was fantastic and really humbled Vera. The fight went the full three rounds, with Aldo winning by decision.
Now, Aldo will take on Muhnoz in what should be a back-and-forth kind of a matchup. Leading up to that one, Aldo has been given 1.72 odds and Muhnoz’s odds have been placed at 2.15. While the thought of a Muhnoz win sounds fun, Aldo is going to be fired up for this one. Because of this, we truly do think he’ll be way too much for Muhnoz to try and stop. Aldo is our pick.
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