'Francis Ngannou declined all dates' - Derrick Lewis' coach speaks out on interim UFC heavyweight title fight controversy

Despite the controversy, the UFC interim heavyweight title fight between Derrick Lewis and Ciryl Gane is official. The fight will be the main event for UFC 265, a PPV card scheduled for August 7.

The reason for the controversy surrounding this event is due to the fact that the UFC heavyweight champion Francis Ngannou only won his belt three months ago. He initially looked set to face off against Lewis in his first official title defense.

However, Ngannou was either unwilling or unable to compete in August, stating that he would be fit and ready for September.

This prompted the UFC to instead book an interim title fight between Lewis and Ciryl Gane. The decision has been met with considerable backlash from fans and the media alike.

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Derrick Lewis' coach speaks out about the interim title fight

Derrick Lewis' coach, Bob Perez, has since given his version of the event by way of a post to his Instagram account. The post begins rather typically, as Perez wrote:

"HOUSTON....YOU READY? @thebeastufc fighting for the #ufc heavyweight interim title, here in H-town August 7."

However, Perez went on to reveal that Derrick Lewis supposedly signed a bout agreement to fight Ngannou a month prior to the interim title fight announcement.

Ngannou refused the fight dates, which, of course, led to the fight with Gane being booked. Perez stated the following:

"Let it be known we agreed to fight Francis for June, August, and September. Derrick even signed bout agreement for August 7, 4 WEEKS AGO. Francis declined all dates, so we had to move forward. What a dream to fight at home! LET'S F***ING GO!!!!"

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Derrick Lewis vs. Ciryl Gane

Controversy aside, Derrick Lewis vs. Ciryl Gane is an exceptional fight between two elite heavyweights.

Lewis is one of the hardest hitting fighters in the world. He showcased why he has that reputation when he knocked out Curtis Blaydes with a brutal uppercut at UFC Vegas 19.

He is currently riding a four-fight winning streak which also includes victories over Aleksei Oleinik and Blagoy Ivanov.

Comparatively, Gane is somewhat of a new breed of UFC heavyweight who prioritizes speed, footwork and timing over raw power and brute strength.

He is still only nine fights into his professional career but has already defeated the likes of Alexander Volkov, Jairzinho Rozenstruik and Junior dos Santos.