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Derrick Lewis vs. Serghei Spivac canceled just hours before scheduled UFC Fight Night 215 headliner

UFC officials revealed a Lewis illness was the culprit for the late scratch.

JM
John Morgan
November 19, 2022 · 1 min read

LAS VEGAS – Saturday’s UFC Fight Night 215 main event between Derrick Lewis and Serghei Spivac was canceled just hours before the fighters were scheduled to walk to the cage.

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UFC officials announced the change during the event’s preliminary card, with UFC commentator citing a “non-COVID, non weight-cutting illness on the Derrick lewis side.”

https://twitter.com/ufc/status/1594065528296972288

It’s currently unclear if the bout will be rescheduled.

Lewis (26-10 MMA, 17-8 UFC), currently sitting at No. 7 in the UFC’s official heavyweight rankings, had been looking to snap a disappointing two-fight skid after suffering back-to-back losses to Sergei Pavlovich and Tai Tuivasa.

Meanwhile, No. 12 Spivac (15-3 MMA, 6-3 UFC) was hoping to build on the strength of consecutive wins over Augusto Sakai and Greg Hardy.

With the cancellation, a light heavyweight clash between Kennedy Nzechukwu (10-3 MMA, 4-3 UFC) and Ion Cutelaba (16-8-1 MMA, 5-7-1 UFC) was elevated to UFC Fight Night 215’s headlining role.

This story first published at SI.com/MMA.

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