Serghei Spivac says he was given several reasons as to why his original fight with Derrick Lewis was cancelled, but he is unsure which one is true.
Lewis vs. Spivac was originally scheduled as the headliner of UFC Vegas 65 this past November. The event was underway when UFC color commentator Brendan Fitzgerald announced that the ‘Black Beast’ was forced to withdraw after suffering ‘a non-COVID, non-weight cutting illness.’ Lewis was hospitalized, but cleared to return to competition from the reported ‘stomach issues’ plaguing him shortly after.
The UFC kept the fight intact, scheduling it for the headliner of UFC Vegas 68 on Saturday. Ahead of this event, Lewis has shed some light on what led to his withdrawal. As it turned out, it was COVID-related. Spivac told reporters at his media day appearance on Wednesday that regardless of the reason, he moved on from the cancellation quickly, wished ‘nothing but the best’ for Lewis and focused on whoever the UFC offered him next.
“[I found out the fight was cancel;ed] about 10 minutes before I was about to leave my hotel room,” said Spivac. “There’s a lot of things that I was told, but he’s the only one who knows the truth, so I didn’t bother thinking about that.”
Having prepared for Lewis as an opponent again, the ‘Polar Bear’ feels ‘ready for everything’ thrown his way when they share the Octagon. And when all is said and done, he expects to get his hand raised, which would extend his win streak to three.
“I’m hopeful very much that I will win this fight,” said Spivac.
As for Lewis, he hopes to snap a two-fight losing streak that included back-to-back (T)KOs to Tai Tuivasa and Serghei Pavlovich at UFC 271 and UFC 277, respectively.
UFC Vegas 68 goes down on Sat., February 4, at the UFC APEX in Las Vegas, Nevada.
About the author: Kristen King is a writer for Bloody Elbow. She has covered combat sports since 2016. (full bio)
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