UFC fans who tuned in for Derrick Lewis vs. Serghei Spivac are leaving empty-handed. Saturday's UFC Fight Night main event was canceled mid-broadcast after an illness forced Lewis off the card.
Ranked heavyweights Lewis and Spivac were the scheduled headliners for the latest Fight Night card from the UFC Apex in Las Vegas. Reports trickled out online during the prelims that the fight may be in jeopardy. UFC commentators Brendan Fitzgerald, Michael Bisping and Paul Felder subsequently announced mid-broadcast the fight was off after Lewis came down with an illness.
"We have some unfortunate news to share with you," Fitzgerald told the television audience. There is a non-COVID, non-weight-cutting illness on the Derrick Lewis side. So our main event today has been canceled. You hate to see it."
An update to the #UFCVegas65 card. pic.twitter.com/LszdeJT0ym
— UFC (@ufc) November 19, 2022
A three-round fight between light heavyweights Kennedy Nzechukwu vs. Ion Cutelaba was elevated to the main event.
Lewis (26-10, 1 NC) was looking to get back on track after consecutive losses to top-five heavyweights Tai Tuivasa and Sergei Pavlovich. Spivac (15-3) had found his groove as of late, winning five of six heading into this week. A win over Lewis would likely have rewarded Spivac with a fight against the heavyweight elite.
