Breaking! UFC 216’s Fabricio Werdum vs. Derrick Lewis has been cancelled!

A key heavyweight fight between former champ Fabricio Werdum and Derrick Lewis has been removed from tonight’s UFC 216 event in Las Vegas.

According to a report from MMAJunkie’s John Morgan, the Werdum vs. Lewis fight was cancelled after “The Black Beast” aggravated an injury to his back.

The heavyweight fight was expected to take place on the pay-per-view portion of tonight’s event.

Fabricio Werdum holds a 21-7-1 professional mixed martial arts record and last fought Alistair Overeem in July at UFC 213 where he lost a majority decision, going 1-2 in his last three bouts. In September of last year at UFC 203, “Vai Cavalo” picked up a unanimous decision win over Travis Browne. Werdum lost the UFC heavyweight title to Stipe Miocic in his prior bout at UFC 198 in May, losing by KO.

Derrick Lewis holds an 18-5-1 professional mixed martial arts record and last fought Mark Hunt in June where he lost by TKO in the fourth round and shortly pondered the idea of retiring. Prior to his bout with Hunt, “The Black Beast” was a roll in the UFC heavyweight division riding a six-fight winning streak with his previous loss being back in 2015 against Shawn Jordan. In his six-fight winning streak, Lewis picked up notable wins over Gabriel Gonzaga, Roy Nelson, and Travis Browne.