Valentina Shevchenko is not happy she won’t have a chance to win UFC gold on Saturday night.
Shevchenko was expected to challenge Nicco Montano for the women’s flyweight title in the UFC 228 co-main event in Dallas, but the bout was cancelled Friday during the official weigh-ins. Montano was transported to a local hospital Friday morning and later forced off the card due to “health concerns,” per a UFC statement.
Montano vs. Shevchenko has been seemingly in the works since Shevchenko’s dominant win over Priscila Cachoeira in February. A few months prior, Montano won the inaugural championship with a decision win over Roxanne Modafferi following The Ultimate Fighter 26 last December. Shevchenko has long believed Montano wants to avoid fighting her, and she reiterated that after Friday’s cancellation.
“I am not surprised about this situation with Nicco,” Shevchenko wrote Friday afternoon on Instagram. “And I told it before, she can pull out from the fight at anytime. She was trying to avoid this fight several times already.
“It is my 3rd preparation for this fight. Looks like It was her plan from the beginning, to show up for the fight week , to build up her name, speak confident and secure, and then escape from the fight in the last minutes. She was speaking about Fighting spirit and character….What kind of fighting spirit she is talking about?”
Per ESPN’s Ariel Helwani, Montano’s health issues are related to her weight cut. Montano was hospitalized “as a precautionary measure,” per the UFC. Shevchenko doesn’t believe the women’s flyweight champ is at all ill, however.
“I don’t believe in a version about health issues, she was looking totally fine in open workout and media day,” she wrote. “Her actions are totally unprofessional!
“I am very upset about all this happening. I was preparing for this fight hard and serious. My plan was to leave Dallas with the belt. I will keep moving forward. And will seize the next opportunity to take what is mine.”
Shevchenko has also been removed from the UFC 228 fight card, as there was not sufficient time to find a replacement opponent.
UFC 228, which takes place at American Airlines Center, will proceed with 13 bouts. In the main event, welterweight champion Tyron Woodley defends his belt against Darren Till.