Nicco Montano Pulled From UFC 228 Title Fight
Nicco Montano has been pulled from the upcoming UFC 228 pay-per-view event where she was supposed to fight Valentina Shevchenko.
Montano is slated to make her first title defense as the UFC women’s flyweight champion against the former women’s bantamweight title contender in the co-main event. However, that is now up in the air after it was reported that Montano was transported to a local hospital prior to the weigh-ins.
Fighters were supposed to weigh-in on Friday morning. As a result, her status for the title fight was up in the air. ESPN’s Ariel Helwani was the first to report the news by posting the following:
“Nicco Montano, the UFC women’s flyweight champion, has been transported to a local hospital, according to multiple sources. There is serious concern about the status of her title fight against Valentina Shevchenko at this time.”
Nicco Montaño, the UFC women’s flyweight champion, has been transported to a local hospital, according to multiple sources. There is serious concern about the status of her title fight against Valentina Shevchenko at this time.
— Ariel Helwani (@arielhelwani) September 7, 2018
It was then reported that Montano had been pulled from the card and the fight is off.
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
Montano won the inaugural flyweight title when she beat Roxanne Modafferi by unanimous decision at The Ultimate Fighter 26 Finale in December. However, she has not been seen in the Octagon since as she suffered a broken foot in that fight, which is the reason she has been kept out of action once she decided to undergo the knife and get surgery.
The UFC 228 pay-per-view event is set to take place on Saturday, September 8, 2018 in Dallas, Texas at the American Airlines Center. The main card will air on pay-per-view at 10 p.m. ET. The preliminary card will air on FX at 8 p.m. ET and the promotion’s streaming service, UFC Fight Pass, 6 p.m. ET. Tyron Woodley vs. Darren Till in a welterweight title fight will headline this show. Here is how the current card looks like:
MAIN CARD (PPV/10 p.m. ET)
Welterweight Title Fight: Tyron Woodley (c) vs. Darren Till
Featherweight Bout: Zabit Magomedsharipov vs. Brandon Davis
Women’s Strawweight Bout: Jéssica Andrade vs. Karolina Kowalkiewicz
Welterweight Bout: Abdul Razak Alhassan vs. Niko Price
PRELIMINARY CARD (FX/8 p.m. ET)
Women’s Strawweight Bout: Carla Esparza vs. Tatiana Suarez
Bantamweight Bout: Aljamain Sterling vs. Cody Stamann
Middleweight Bout: Charles Byrd vs. Darren Stewart
Bantamweight Bout: Jimmie Rivera vs. John Dodson
PRELIMINARY CARD (UFC Fight Pass/6 p.m. ET)
Welterweight Bout: Diego Sanchez vs. Craig White
Lightweight Bout: Jim Miller vs. Alex White
Women’s Bantamweight Irene Aldana vs. Lucie Pudilova
Flyweight Bout: Jarred Brooks vs. Roberto Sanchez
Welterweight Bout: Geoff Neal vs. Frank Camacho
