Is It Already Time For The UFC To Strip Nicco Montano?

Earlier today (Fri., September 7, 2018) the UFC was beset with yet another weigh-in day catastrophe when women’s flyweight champion Nicco Montano was forced out of her title fight with Valentina Shevchenko at tomorrow’s UFC 228 from Dallas. The events may suggest it’s already time for the UFC to strip Nicco Montano of her title.

Montano was reportedly rushed to the hospital due to weigh-cutting complications. Obviously, her health comes first and foremost, but it was an odd set of circumstances before a fight that Shevchenko repeatedly stated Montano wouldn’t show up for.

Her bold prediction was proven true this morning, unfortunately. The UFC was left with another cancellation of a high-profile fight on weigh-in day, continuing a concerning streak of last-minute call-offs that make the promotion look quite unprofessional.

And it looks even worse for Montano. After winning the title by defeating Roxanne Modafferi at The Ultimate Fighter (TUF) 27 Finale last December, Montano took nearly nine months off to reportedly deal with a host of injuries. When news broke from Ariel Helwani that the UFC was wearing thin on her dragging her feet, she went off on the longtime journalist. That looks beyond entitled in hindsight now, as she waited all that time to simply not show up.

Montano was a historic underdog to former women’s bantamweight title contender Shevchenko, and many are crying that she was scared. Maybe that’s true, maybe it isn’t, but regardless the UFC has a situation unfolding similar to that of former women’s featherweight champion Germaine de Randamie. De Randamie won the belt in controversial fashion over Holly Holm at UFC 208 in early 2017 and then promptly went radio silent when the prospect of her fighting current champion Cris Cyborg arose.

Looking at it on the surface, this is eerily similar.

The women’s flyweight division just got established, but it had little direction with Montano inactive, and now it’s been set back even further due to her latest holdup. That’s just not the direction of a true UFC champion, and especially during a time when this is the last thing the promotion needs.

So is it time to strip Nicco Montano of her title? Yes, it probably is, because there’s a much more accomplished fighter willing to put it on the line in Shevchenko.

And she’s ready to fight.