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UFC Vegas 65: Main event canceled due to Derrick Lewis illness

Callie Lawson-Freeman
·Contributing writer
·2-min read

Heavyweights Derrick Lewis and Sergey Spivak were set to battle at UFC Vegas 65 on Saturday at the Apex in Las Vegas.

Instead, cageside announcer Brendan Fitzgerald interrupted the prelims to announce that the main event was canceled due to a "non-COVID, non-weight cutting illness on the Derrick Lewis side." After Saturday's card ended, UFC chief doctor Jeff Davidson told Yahoo Sports’ Kevin Iole that Lewis had went to the ER with "stomach issues," but was later cleared.

The light heavyweight bout between Kennedy Nzechukwu and Ion Cutelaba was upgraded from co-main event to the main event and will remain three rounds, according to the broadcast.

Lewis (26-10 MMA, 17-8 UFC) is the UFC's all-time KO leader. He said he prepared for the now-canceled fight harder than ever.

"This year, I trained probably the most I've ever done for both of my last fights, and they didn't go my way," Lewis said Friday. "I did everything the right way and it didn't go my way. I don't know. I still trained even harder for this fight. We'll see how things go Saturday."

Nicknamed "The Black Beast," he approached Saturday with back-to-back knockout losses to Tai Tuivasa and Sergei Pavlovich. The matchup with Spivak (15-3 MMA, 6-3 UFC) offered an opportunity for the 37-year-old to gain some momentum.

LAS VEGAS, NEVADA - NOVEMBER 18: (L-R) Opponents Derrick Lewis and Serghei Spivac of Moldova face off during the UFC Fight Night weigh-in at UFC APEX on November 18, 2022 in Las Vegas, Nevada. (Photo by Chris Unger/Zuffa LLC)
Derrick Lewis' main event matchup versus Sergey Spivac was canceled Saturday due to a non-weight cut related illness. (Photo by Chris Unger/Zuffa LLC) (Chris Unger via Getty Images)

Miles Johns says his coach, James Krause, was suspended

In addition to the unfortunate cancellation, Miles Johns broke some news after winning a close match against Vince Morales.

"My coach last night at the dinner table got pulled and they said the UFC was suspending him," Johns said in a post-match interview with Michael Bisping.

Johns' coach is former UFC fighter James Krause, who has gone on record to say that he makes "more money on gambling on MMA" than anything else. A source told Yahoo Sports' Kevin Iole that there is no evidence Krause had done anything wrong, but the commission wouldn't allow him to work Saturday's event while there is an ongoing betting investigation into a fight that featured one of Krause's fighters.