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Another weekend is closing in, and another stacked UFC pay-per-view is almost upon us. Saturday's event will see another packed crowd enjoy UFC action and another set of top names battle it out inside the octagon.
The promotion will welcome an audience of 16,000 to the Toyota Center in Houston, Texas. The event will mark the second to be held at the arena since the easing of restrictions following the COVID-19 outbreak. UFC 262, which included Charles Oliveira's title crowning, was the first.
Despite perhaps not being as strong as previous PPVs, UFC 265 is still stacked from top to bottom. In the main event, Ciryl Gane and Derrick Lewis will battle it out in a clash of heavyweight behemoths for the interim title. A champion vs. champion matchup against Francis Ngannou will await the victor.
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With the likes of Jose Aldo, Pedro Munhoz, Song Yadong, Rafael Fiziev, Michael Chiesa and Vicente Luque all in action, UFC 265 looks set to be another entertaining night for MMA fans.
With exciting bouts throughout, this weekend’s event could bring us more memorable moments, but who could be providing them?
Ahead of Saturday’s card, here are five names to look out for at UFC 265.
#5. Miles Johns - UFC bantamweight
Whenever anyone produces a highlight reel knockout as brutal as Miles Johns did at UFC Vegas 12, they have to be one to watch the next time they're in action.
On the undercard of Anderson Silva's final fight in the UFC, Johns faced Kevin Natividad. Midway through the final round, Natividad was rendered unconscious by a swift and vicious right hand. Not many victims of a KO have crumpled and fallen as awkwardly as he did. The win last October was Johns 10th in MMA and a fast rebound following his first defeat in the sport at the hands of Mario Bautista earlier in 2020.
Having previously been on a nine-fight winning streak heading into last year, 'Chapo' will look to build a new streak with a win against veteran campaigner Anderson dos Santos this weekend. If he can produce another finish like in his last fight, he'll certainly establish his name in the 135-pound division.
After this bout was pulled off the UFC Vegas 31 card last month, Johns now has the chance to impress on the grand stage of a UFC PPV.
#4. Alonzo Menifield - UFC light heavyweight
This is an important card for knockout artist Alonzo Menifield. The American broke onto the UFC scene with an eight-second KO win on Dana White’s Contender Series.
In his first two UFC fights, Vinicius Moreira and Paul Craig fell to Menifield’s power. Heading into UFC 250, the 33-year-old was 9-0 with eight knockouts and one submission. Menifield’s weakness in the later rounds became evident when Devin Clark handed him his first loss.
A knockout defeat to Ovince Saint Preux last year left Menifield needing a win against promotional newcomer Fabio Cherant at UFC 260 to get his career back on track. In about as convincing a fashion as he could have, the 33-year-old did exactly that. With his first-round submission victory, Menifield became just the fourth fighter to score a Von Flue choke finish in the UFC.
Against 24-fight UFC veteran Ed Herman this weekend, Menifield will look to secure a second consecutive win and begin another winning streak. But in doing so, he'll have to snap the winning streak of 'Short Fuse', who's won his last three inside the octagon.
With his knockout power, Menifield is certainly one to watch this weekend.
#3. Song Yadong - UFC bantamweight
At just 23 years of age, Song Yadong's potential is off the charts, as it was when he made his UFC debut back in 2017 at the age of just 19. This weekend at UFC 265, Yadong gets his first main card PPV assignment. After just one win in his last three, his fight with Casey Kenney in Saturday's opening bout is his chance to burst into the top 15 and send a statement to the the rest of the bantamweight division.
Before even turning 2020, 'The Kung Fu Monkey' had secured a memorable first-round submission victory on his debut. His front choke against Bharat Khandare signaled his arrival onto MMA's biggest stage. Three wins followed, including two knockout wins against Felipe Arantes and Alejandro Perez.
A majority draw against Cody Stamann, his toughest opponent up to that point, was followed by a competitive Fight of the Night against Marlon 'Chito' Vera last May. Although many suggested Vera was 'robbed' of the win, I scored the fight narrowly in the Chinese fighter's favor. His charge up the ladder came to a halt at UFC 259 this year against fellow rising prospect Kyler Phillips. 'Matrix' handed Yadong his first UFC defeat by way of a unanimous decision.
Having seen his hype train slightly de-railed at the hands of Phillips, Yadong will be looking to get his rise to the top firmly back on track in a great matchup against Kenney this weekend. With slick, fast and powerful striking, Song Yadong is always one to watch whenever he'[s in action. Given that he's coming off a loss, he's likely to come out more determined than ever, which only makes this bout more intriguing.
#2. Rafael Fiziev - UFC lightweight
Given what happened in his last UFC appearance, Rafael Fiziev has to be on this list. Against Renato Moicano, a Brazilian who was once tipped for featherweight greatness, the Kyrgyzstani provided one of the most impressive knockouts of 2020. The speed, precision and accuracy was something to behold, and he'll look to repeat it on the UFC 265 prelims this Saturday when he faces 15-fight UFC veteran Bobby Green.
Fiziev, who fights out of Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan, made his UFC debut in 2019. Having built an unbeaten 6-0 professional record, which included six stoppages, five of which came in the very first round, 'Ataman' lost his first bout in the octagon against Magomed Mustafaev.
Since then, he's shown why he's always been so highly touted. Unanimous decision wins against Alex White and Marc Diakese preceded his dominant display against Moicano last time out. He'll look to register his seventh KO victory and extend his winning streak to four this weekend when he takes on Green. A Performance of the Night or Fight of the Night bonus seems likely in this lightweight contest.
#1. Ciryl Gane - UFC heavyweight
Ciryl Gane is the main man to watch this weekend in Houston because he has the chance to do something not many have managed. If he can defeat the powerful Derrick Lewis in Saturday's main event, Gane will have successfully won UFC gold as an undefeated fighter.
'Bon Gamin' debuted in the UFC as a 3-0 heavyweight in 2019. Despite lacking MMA experience, Gane's unbeaten Muay Thai background was enough to convince the UFC to sign him. Six fights later and Gane has maintained the undefeated start to his career and racked up wins against the likes of Tanner Boser, former champion Junior dos Santos, knockout machine Jairzinho Rozenstruik and, most recently, Alexander Volkov.
His unique heavyweight style allowed him to neutralize the powerful threat the likes of Rozenstruik and Volkov posed. Now, in his third consecutive main event, he'll look to do the same in front of a packed-out Toyota Center against Houston's own Lewis.
Gane is France's best hope for a UFC champion and he'll hope to become an interim one at UFC 265.
