UFC 228 co-main event is in jeopardy with reports of the UFC flyweight champion, Nicco Montano being transported to the hospital in Dallas early this morning. Montano is scheduled to face Valentina Shevchenko Saturday night and is reported to be in the emergency room but the promotion has not yet officially canceled the event.
Ariel Helwani first reported the news on Twitter which was confirmed by other sources that Montano was taken to the hospital and the fight could be canceled due to the status of her health. Montano had been out of action since winning the inaugural flyweight title at The Ultimate Fighter Season 26 finale in December of 2017 when she won a decision over Roxanne Modafferi.
After winning the title she was out of action due to a bout of tonsillitis and a tendon injury rendering her inactive and unable to defend for quite some time. Her fight with Shevchenko was to be her first chance at defending the title and finally get the flyweight division moving. This would have been the fight where Montano could have proved her doubters wrong by making her first defense. With no other flyweights on the card, shuffling opponents and getting one for Shevchenko could mean the fight is off Saturday night.
There are several straw weights with Jessica Andrade, Karolina Kowalkiewicz, Carla Esparza, and Tatiana Suarez as well as two bantamweights in Irene Aldana and Lucie Pudilova. Using one of them as an alternative could pull another fight off the card and being the day before the event, the chances do not look good. Shevchenko had expressed doubt in Montano earlier this week in an interview with Helwani, that she did not think Montano would make it to fight night.
VIDEO: @BulletValentina will only believe her fight against Nicco Montaño is going to happen once she sees her in the Octagon on Saturday night.
Full: https://t.co/0BDyrcxANb pic.twitter.com/DdXDf6cFLN
— Ariel Helwani (@arielhelwani) September 6, 2018
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ESPN’s Brett Okamoto just broke the news that due to the hospitlization, Montano is off the card. Along with that, contender Valentina Schevchenko is also being pulled from the card. She can’t catch a break.
Nicco Montaño will not fight at UFC 228 tomorrow, after being hospitalized this morning. Valentina Shevchenko just made weight in Dallas, but I’m told the co-main event is off.
— Brett Okamoto (@bokamotoESPN) September 7, 2018
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The UFC also released an official statement that the bout had been canceled as a “precautionary measure”. See the full statement below:
“As a precautionary measure, UFC flyweight Nicco Montaño was transported to a medical facility Friday morning due to health concerns.
The scheduled flyweight championship bout between MontaNo and Valentina Shevchenko at UFC 228 has been canceled.” – UFC
