Jhonata Diniz gets Top 10 heavyweight at UFC 309 after Derrick Lewis pulls out of UFC Edmonton bout
11/02/2024 05:00 PM
UFC heavyweight Jhonata Diniz won’t have to wait long for his next fight after Derrick Lewis’s shocking last-second withdrawal from their UFC Edmonton booking.
Unbeaten UFC heavyweight Jhonata Diniz was supposed to face Derrick Lewis at UFC Edmonton before Lewis pulled out of the fight with an undisclosed medical issue. According to the UFC, Lewis’s withdrawal wasn’t related to his weight cut ahead of UFC Edmonton, as he successfully made the heavyweight limit on Friday.
Before any fights took place at UFC Edmonton, Diniz got some good news regarding his next fight. After the disappointment of the last-second bout cancelation, he’ll face a Top 10 contender on one of the biggest cards of the year.
As UFC broadcaster Brendan Fitzgerald announced at the top of the UFC Edmonton broadcast, Diniz will now face Marcin Tybura (#9 in the latest UFC rankings) at UFC 309 on November 16th. The card is headlined by Jon Jones vs. Stipe Miocic at Madison Square Garden.
Jhonata Diniz booked for UFC 309 fight slot just hours after Derrick Lewis fight cancelation
Diniz will turn his attention towards Tybura at UFC 309. It’ll be by far the toughest test of Diniz’s UFC tenure after recent wins over Austen Lane and Karl Williams.
As for Lewis, the reasoning behind his pull-out from UFC Edmonton remains a mystery. He was a no-show at the UFC Edmonton ceremonial weigh-in, but the promotion assured fans that Lewis was still a green light for his scheduled fight.
That all changed just hours before UFC Edmonton, as the UFC announced Saturday morning that Lewis vs. Diniz was canceled. Due to the extremely short-notice nature of the cancelation, a replacement opponent wasn’t booked against Diniz at UFC Edmonton.
It’s a frustrating medical setback for Lewis after finishing Rodrigo Nascimento at UFC St. Louis earlier this year. He’s won two of his last three UFC fights.
Mystery continues regarding Derrick Lewis’s health after UFC Edmonton scratch
This wasn’t the first time that Lewis had withdrawn from a UFC main event in the final hours. Ahead of a scheduled fight against Serghei Spivac at UFC Vegas 65, Lewis pulled out of the fight due to a stomach-related ailment.
Lewis is one of the biggest UFC fan favorites after a long, decorated tenure with the promotion. His 15 knockouts are the most in UFC history.
Lewis was looking to get on another win streak against Diniz and re-emerge in the UFC heavyweight title picture. Before finishing Nascimento, he lost to Jailton Almeida by unanimous decision in a short-notice booking at UFC São Paulo.
As of this writing, it’s uncertain how long Lewis will need to recover from his medical issue. For now, his UFC heavyweight run remains indefinitely on hold.
