Derrick Lewis Illness Results in Cancelation of UFC Fight Night 215 Headliner

An update to the #UFCVegas65 card. pic.twitter.com/LszdeJT0ym

— UFC (@ufc) November 19, 2022

UFC Fight Night 215 has lost its headliner just a few hours before Derrick Lewis and Sergey Spivak were slated to square off in the Octagon.

The news was announced during Saturday’s broadcast, with a non-COVID, non-weight cut related illness for Lewis cited as the reason for the cancelation. A three-round light heavyweight clash pitting Kennedy Nzechukwu against Ion Cutelaba was elevated to the UFC Fight Night 215 main event as a result. It is unclear if Lewis vs. Spivak will be rebooked at a later date.

A two-time heavyweight title challenger, Lewis has lost three of his last four Octagon appearances. Most recently, “The Black Beast” suffered a 55-second TKO defeat at the hands of Sergei Pavlovich at UFC 277 on July 30.

Spivak has quietly won five of six in UFC competition since July 2020. “The Polar Bear” is 2-0 in 2022, with TKO wins against Augusto Sakai and Greg Hardy to his credit.