UFC’s return to Canada has a new co-main event.
On Tuesday, Sportsnet’s Aaron Bronsteter confirmed a report from Laerte Viana that Derrick Lewis will now face Jhonata Diniz at UFC Fight Night in Edmonton on Nov. 2.
The fight will be the co-main event with a flyweight bout between Rose Namajunas and Erin Blanchfield.
Lewis was originally scheduled to fight Alexandr Romanov.
Bronsteter confirmed a report from MMA Junkie’s Farah Hannoun that Romanov will now take on Rodrigo Nascimento in Edmonton instead.
The 39-year-old Lewis is the No. 11 ranked fighter in the UFC heavyweight rankings. He has a 28-12 overall record and won his last fight when he knocked out Rodrigo Nascimento at UFC Fight Night St. Louis in May.
Diniz made his UFC debut in April after being signed off the Contender Series. He is 2-0 since his promotion.
Four Canadians are also scheduled to be on the card at Rogers Place.
• Marc-Andre Barriault (Gatineau, Que.) vs. Dustin Stoltzfus
• Jamey-Lyn Horth (Squamish, B.C.) vs. Ivana Petrovic
• Ariane da Silva vs. Jasmine Jasudavicius (St. Catharines, Ont.)
• Chad Anheliger (Calgary) vs. Cody Gibson
Tickets for the event will go on sale in September. Edmonton has previously hosted two UFC events at Rogers Place, including UFC 240 in 2019 and UFC 215 in 2017.