Ciryl Gane has but one more rung to climb on the Ultimate Fighting Championship ladder.
The undefeated Frenchman will square off with Derrick Lewis for the interim heavyweight title in the UFC 265 headliner on Saturday at the Toyota Center in Houston, with the winner likely moving on to a blockbuster unification bout opposite current champion Francis Ngannou in late 2021 or early 2022. Gane enters the cage with a perfect 9-0 record. He last appeared at UFC Fight Night 190, where he outworked Alexander Volkov to a unanimous decision in their June 26 main event. Lewis, meanwhile, has rattled off four straight victories. He last competed under the UFC Fight Night 185 marquee on Feb. 20, when he laid waste to Curtis Blaydes with a brutal second-round uppercut.
As UFC 265 “Lewis vs. Gane” approaches, a look at some of the numbers the fighters on the card have generated to this point:
519: Significant strikes landed by Lewis since he joined the UFC in 2014, placing him seventh on the promotion’s active list for heavyweights. Only Andrei Arlovski (1,189), Stipe Miocic (970), the aforementioned Volkov (802), Ben Rothwell (679), Marcin Tybura (619) and Chase Sherman (585) have connected with more.
3: First-round stoppage victories on the Gane resume. The onetime TKO Major League MMA champion submitted Bobby Sullivan with a guillotine choke 1:42 into their Aug. 2, 2018 pairing at TKO Fight Night 1, put away Roggers Souza with punches 4:26 into their May 24, 2019 confrontation at TKO 48 and tapped Raphael Pessoa with an arm-triangle choke 4:12 into their Aug. 10, 2019 encounter at UFC Fight Night 156.
8: Seconds needed for former UFC and World Extreme Cagefighting titleholder Jose Aldo to cut down Cub Swanson with a flying knee and follow-up punches at WEC 41 in June 2009. Though it occurred more than a decade ago, it remains the fastest finish of the Brazilian icon’s 36-fight career. Aldo meets Pedro Munhoz in the co-main event.
5: Munhoz wins by knockout or technical knockout, accounting for 26% of his career total (18). His list of victims: Cody Gabrandt, Bryan Caraway, Matt Hobar, Roberto Matsumoto and Reginaldo Vieira. Munhoz owns eight other wins by submission and five more by decision.
1,127: Days since Michael Chiesa last tasted defeat. “The Ultimate Fighter” Season 15 winner has rebounded from back-to-back losses to Kevin Lee on June 25, 2017 and Anthony Pettis on July 7, 2018 with consecutive victories over Carlos Condit, Diego Sanchez, Rafael dos Anjos and Neil Magny. Chiesa faces Vicente Luque in a three-round welterweight showcase.
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7: Luque victories by submission, accounting for 35% of his career total (20). His methods of choice: three brabo chokes, two anaconda chokes, one arm-triangle choke and one guillotine choke. Luque sports 11 other victories by knockout or technical knockout and two more by decision.
5.66: Strikes landed per minute of UFC competition by Angela Hill, putting her fifth on the company’s all-time list at 115 pounds. The former Invicta Fighting Championships titleholder trails only Jessica Andrade (6.88), Joanna Jedrzejczyk (6.62), Weili Zhang (6.36) and Xiaonan Yan (5.95) in the category. Hill draws Tecia Torres in a long-awaited rematch on the main card.
47: Rounds completed by Torres since she made her debut as a professional mixed martial artist in October 2012. The American Top Team product has gone the distance 15 times in her 17-fight career, compiling a 10-5 record in bouts that reach the judges. Included among her victories: a unanimous decision over Hill at UFC 188 a little more than six years ago.
23: Years of age for Yadong Song. The youngest fighter on the card, he was born on Dec. 12, 1997 in Heilongjiang, China. Song draws Casey Kenney in a hotly anticipated bantamweight feature.
24: Takedowns surrendered by Kenney across his seven appearances in the UFC. Opponents have completed 47% (24-for-51) of their attempts against the judo and Brazilian jiu-jitsu black belt.
40: Years of age for Herman. The oldest fighter on the card, he was born on Oct. 2, 1980 in Vancouver, Washington. A finalist on Season 3 of “The Ultimate Fighter” reality series, Herman battles Alonzo Menifield in a three-round light heavyweight prelim.
.745: Cumulative winning percentage between the 26 fighters booked to compete at the event. They own a combined record of 377-123-6. Herman has been saddled with the most losses (14) of any fighter on the card, while former King of the Cage champion Bobby Green boasts the most victories (27). Green collides with the once-beaten Rafael Fiziev on the undercard.