As it turns out, “The Black Beast” won’t be competing Saturday.
Derrick Lewis has been removed from his bout with Jonata Dinis for medical reasons, the promotion announced late Friday, less than 24 hours before he was scheduled to enter the cage.
The heavyweight bout was scheduled to take place Saturday at UFC Fight Night 246 at Rogers Place in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada.
Ruiz (28-12 MMA, 19-10 UFC) did not attend Friday’s weigh-in, which is unusual for a fighter. UFC officials said the fight was scheduled to take place as scheduled at the time, but the bout has since been canceled.
The cause of the medical issue is unknown, but the promotion says it is not related to Lewis’ weight loss. At Friday’s official weigh-in, he tipped the scales at 266 pounds, the heavyweight limit.
It’s unclear what Diniz (8-0 MMA, 2-0 UFC) will do next, as he was looking forward to his first high-profile fight with Ruiz.
Due to the cancellation, UFC Fight Night 246 will continue with the following 13 fights:
Main Card (ESPN+, 8 p.m. ET)
Brandon Moreno vs. Amir Albaji Erin Blanchfield vs. Rose Namajunas Caio Machado vs. Blendson Ribeiro Marc-Andre Barrio vs. Dustin Stoltzfus Trevin Giles vs. Mike Marotte Pedro Munhoz vs. Ayman Zahavi Ariane da Silva vs. Jasmine Jasdavicius Victor Henry vs. Charles Jordan Jack Shore vs. Youssef Zalal Rodrigo Nascimento vs. Alexandre Romanov Garrett Armfield vs. Serhii Saidi Chad Angeliger vs. Cody Gibson Jamie Lynn Horse vs. Ivana Petrovich
For more information on the card, check out MMA Junkie’s UFC Fight Night 246 event hub.
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