With just a matter of a few hours to go until UFC 216 kicked off last night, Derrick Lewis withdrew from his heavyweight match-up with Fabricio Werdum as a result of a back injury. 

The nature of the withdrawal, it being so late, meant that it was believed Werdum would be opponentless on the night. Finding someone to step in on such short notice would surely prove to be a task too difficult, right?

Wrong.

Walt Harris, already scheduled to fight on the card, made the jump up to fight the former heavyweight champion. Although it did not work out so well for Harris (Werdum won via submission after just 65 seconds) his courage and bravery to step in on just a few hours notice was incredibly admirable.

Top MMA journalist Ariel Helwani also reported that up and coming heavyweight sensation Francis Nganou was in Las Vegas and contacted UFC brass to make them aware that he would step in to clash with Werdum as a late replacement. Nganou is down to fight Alastair Overeem at UFC 218.

So, just how did the Brazilian former champ respond when he learned the news that Lewis had pulled out when he was in his hotel room preparing to do battle?

And how about his last minute preparations for an opponent he knew practically nothing about?

Megan Olivi caught up with Fabricio backstage after the event to find out all about the chaotic situation. See for yourself in the clip below:

 

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