Report: UFC discussing Daniel Cormier vs. Derrick Lewis for MSG

Valentina Shevchenko vs. Sijara Eubanks may not headline the UFC’s return to Madison Square Garden after all.

Though the event is under a month away, ESPN’s Brett Okamoto reported on Monday that the UFC has opened discussions for a heavyweight title fight between Daniel Cormier and Derrick Lewis to main event UFC 230 at Madison Square Garden on November 3. Okamoto wrote that Cormier vs. Lewis isn’t a done deal and “certain hurdles still have to be cleared.”

Cormier, who defeated Stipe Miocic at UFC 226 in July to win the heavyweight title and become a two-division champion, has been dealing with a hand injury. His first heavyweight title defense has been expected to be against Brock Lesnar, who is eligible to return to the Octagon in January 2019.

Lewis was in action at UFC 229 on Saturday night, coming from behind in the final seconds of the fight to defeat Alexander Volkov by knockout. In his post-match interview, Lewis said that he wasn’t trying to challenge for the heavyweight title now due to his poor cardio.

Shevchenko and Eubanks’ fight for the vacant women’s flyweight championship has yet to be officially announced for the Madison Square Garden show. Nate Diaz vs. Dustin Poirier and Luke Rockhold vs. Chris Weidman are two of the top bouts set for the event.