Derrick Lewis leaves UFC Edmonton, fight against Jhonata Diniz is removed from the card

Derrick Lewis is no longer competing at UFC Edmonton.

The heavyweight has been forced out of his scheduled fight against Jhonata Diniz as the bout has now been removed from the card and was scheduled to take place at Rogers Place on Saturday evening.

According to UFC officials, Lewis was forced to withdraw from the competition due to a medical issue unrelated to weight loss.

While Lewis actually stepped on the scale at the official weigh-ins on Friday morning, he was later absent from the ceremonial weigh-ins, raising doubts about his combat readiness. A few hours later, UFC officials confirmed that Lewis had been removed from the event and his fight with Diniz was canceled.

It's an unfortunate turn of events for Lewis, who was looking to build on a win over Rodrigo Nascimento in May when he extended his record for most knockouts in UFC history to 15 in total.

Meanwhile, Diniz is missing out on the chance to face an established veteran and former title challenger in Lewis after starting his UFC career with two straight wins and a perfect 8-0 record overall.

The UFC Edmonton card now moves forward with a total of 13 fights. A flyweight bout between Canada's Jasmine Jasudavicius and Ariane da Silva is expected to take the vacant spot on the main card.