Valentina Shevchenko still has some grievances with Nicco Montano. The pair were initially expected to co-main event UFC 228 earlier this month. Instead, Montano was forced to pull out the morning of weigh-ins due to a bad weight-cut. No replacement was found and the fight was cancelled.
Because Montano couldn’t defend her title, she was subsequently stripped of the belt. UFC President Dana White announced Shevchenko will fight Joanna Jedrzejczyk for the vacant throne at UFC 231 in December. “The Bullet” has retained her belief that Montano was searching for a way out of their fight from the beginning.
In fact, she told MMA Junkie that she isn’t sure Montano will ever fight again:
“I’m not even sure that she will ever come back to fight,” Shevchenko said. “People have their limits with their feelings. They never go over this feeling. Maybe it was the most for her, and she will be happy for the rest of her days. She already did it (become UFC champion). I’m not sure she will ever go back and fight anywhere. Just anywhere in general.”
UFC 231 Backup
Shevchenko doesn’t want a repeat of what happened against Montano to happen at UFC 231. While she’s sure Jedrzejczyk will show up to fight, perhaps having a backup opponent wouldn’t be the worst idea:
“It’s good to have some backup because you never know what could happen, because if something happens you have someone to recover,” Shevchenko said.
“Something happened last time, and they could not find any replacement on such short notice. It’s good to have backup. Let’s see what will go. It doesn’t matter for me. I will prepare and will be ready for everyone. My only hope that will happen is the fight. It doesn’t matter against who.”
Do you think Montano will fight in the UFC again?
