The UFC Fight Night Edmonton card is still looking good, but it lost some serious star power on Friday night. Heavyweight star Derrick Lewis was forced to pull out of his fight with Jhonata Diniz due to an illness unrelated to weight cutting, according to the UFC.

The issue happened too close to Saturday’s event, leaving the UFC without time to find a replacement for Lewis. As it stands, if Lewis’ issues aren’t so serious that it keeps him out of action for an extended period of time, it wouldn’t be a shock to see the fight added to an upcoming show – perhaps even UFC 309 on November 16 around Madison Square Garden.

Best wishes go to Lewis regarding his health problem. Moreover, it is bad luck for Diniz. The promising Brazilian heavyweight was on the cusp of the best opportunities of his professional MMA career.

The undefeated 33-year-old is 8-0. Diniz is unranked, but a win over No. 11 Lewis would have vaulted him into the Top 15 of the division. Diniz is 3-0 in the UFC, including a first-round KO win over Eduardo Neves in September 2023 on the Dana White Contender Series, which earned him a contract.

Since making the roster, Diniz knocked out Austen Lane in April and won a unanimous decision over Karl Williams in August. If Diniz gets another fight added before the end of the year, there is still a path to the Top 15.

As for Lewis, the 39-year-old was looking for his second win in a row. Lewis knocked out Rodrigo Nascimento in May, and a win over Diniz might have given him a minor bump if he had won convincingly.

There are no clues as to the nature of Lewis’ illness. However, he reportedly weighed 266 pounds but was unable to make it to the actual weigh-in on Friday.

Lewis made headlines earlier this week when he revealed some of the issues he had with former opponent, UFC commentator and former light heavyweight and heavyweight champion Daniel Cormier.

Lewis disagreed with something Cormier said about him, calling him a “piece of s###” on the Ariel Helwani Show. Cormier said he thinks Lewis had an issue with him, suggesting he retire after a three-fight losing streak in 2023. Cormier will commentate on Saturday’s show.

With the cancellation of Lewis-Diniz, here is a look at the full ticket set for Saturday.

Main Card – 8:00 PM ET – ESPN+

• Brandon Moreno vs. Amir Albazi
• Erin Blanchfield vs. Rose Namajunas
• Derrick Lewis vs. Jhonata Diniz
• Caio Machado vs. Brendson Ribeiro
• Marc-André Barriault vs. Dustin Stoltzfus
• Mike Malott vs. Trevin Giles

Preliminary Card – 5:00 PM ET – ESPN+

• Aiemann Zahabi vs Pedro Munhoz
• Ariane da Silva vs. Jasmine Jasudavicius
• Charles Jourdain vs. Victor Henry
• Jack Shore vs. Youssef Zalal
• Alexander Romanov vs. Rodrigo Nascimento
• Serhiy Sidey vs. Garrett Armfield
• Chad Anheliger vs. Cody Gibson
• Jamey-Lyn Horth vs. Ivana Petrovic

Stay tuned for post-fight coverage, including reactions to the main event, co-feature and other notable events.