Breaking: Derrick Lewis pulls out of UFC Fight Night main event due to illness
Derrick Lewis' UFC Fight Night main event clash against Sergey Spivak was officially canceled after 'The Black Beast' was forced to pull out of the bout with an undisclosed medical issue.
The knockout artist was looking to get back into the winner's column after suffering back-to-back TKO losses at the hands of Ciryl Gane and Tai Tuivasa but is unfortunately no longer able to do that tonight. Although there's no official news on the fight going forward, it is likely that the matchup will be rescheduled.
During the UFC Fight Night broadcast, shortly before the sixth fight of the prelims was set to get underway, Brendan Fitzgerald announced that Derrick Lewis had dropped out of his proposed brawl against Sergey Spivak due to illness, saying:
"We have some unfortunate news to share with you. Our main event was to be against Derrick Lewis and Sergey Spivak, [but] there is a none-covid, none-weight-cutting illness on the Derrick Lewis side, so our main event today has been canceled. You hate to see it."
It is unclear exactly what Lewis is dealing with physically at present, but it remains clear that Sergey Spivak will not get a replacement fight and will no longer compete on the card.
The 27-year-old European was chasing his third straight win inside the octagon as he attempts to skyrocket himself up the rankings and directly into heavyweight title contention.
Check out Brendan Fitzgerald's breaking announcement about Lewis in the video below.
An update to the #UFCVegas65 card. https://t.co/LszdeJT0ym
What happens to the UFC Fight Night card after Derrick Lewis' withdrawal?
Derrick Lewis being forced to drop out of the main event is a huge blow not only for the UFC but also for the fans, with a large number of supporters tuning in to watch the heavy-hitting competitor in action.
While they will no longer get to watch the 37-year-old compete tonight, the show must go on and the promotion has appointed a new main event to stand in for the loss of the heavyweight collision.
Kennedy Nzechukwu will be hoping to extend his winning run to two when he steps into the octagon to face Ion Cutelaba in our brand-new UFC Fight Night headliner this evening.
With a combined number of 19 knockouts throughout their careers, the light heavyweights have a chance to steal the spotlight after the last-minute reshuffling of the card.