An interim heavyweight title fight has been slotted into the main event role at UFC 265.
Derrick Lewis and Cyril Gane will square off on August 7 for the belt. The winner is likely to meet current champion Francis Nganou to unify the belts after that.
The fight has been confirmed by UFC president Dana White through ESPN.
Initially, all signs pointed to Lewis taking on Ngannou in a rematch after talks with Jon Jones to challenge Ngannou fell apart.
Ngannou took to social media to express his frustration with the news:
The 36-year-old Lewis has won four consecutive, including a February knockout of Curtis Blaydes. He scored a 2018 decision victory over Ngannou as part of a three-fight win streak that pushed him into a title fight with then-champion Daniel Cormier.
Gane is coming off a victory over Alexander Volkov in late June. He is a perfect 9-0 overall with six of those wins coming by way of finish.
UFC 265 is also expected to feature Amanda Nunes putting her bantamweight belt on the line vs. Julianna Pena.
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