Bantamweight champion Amanda Nunes on Saturday was scratched from her title defense against Valentina Shevchenko after being hospitalized a few hours before UFC 213.
The UFC vaguely cited an “illness” as the reason for Nunes’ hospitalization in its statement. Shevchenko believes Nunes’ condition resulted from a drastic weight cut.
Yoel Romero’s interim middleweight title bout against Robert Whittaker became the main event of the pay-per-view show at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, although the UFC also offered ticket refunds.
Photo: AFP
Shevchenko expressed her displeasure over the loss of a big paycheck and a long-awaited title shot in a post on her social media accounts.
“During the last three months of training, I did everything to be in my best shape for this fight,” Shevchenko wrote. “Nunes couldn’t cut weight correctly and was hospitalized. She wanted to cut weight and recover rapidly to have the advantage. The end result, everything went wrong. Even though she was medically cleared to fight, she backed out. ... I did my part and am very upset that I can’t fight for the title today on this great event.”
UFC president Dana White speculated that the bout could be moved to UFC 215 in Edmonton, Alberta, on Sept. 9, but a plan has not been finalized.
After Nunes was hospitalized, White said 115-pound (52kg) champion Joanna Jedrzejczyk lobbied him to give her a late-notice fight against the 135-pound Shevchenko.
The Nevada Athletic Commission would never allow such a thing, but Jedrzejczyk and Shevchenko already fought each other in Muay Thai competition during their martial arts careers.
Nunes (14-4), a Brazilian fighting out of Florida, claimed the 135-pound belt from Miesha Tate in July last year.
After Nunes violently stopped Ronda Rousey in December, she was scheduled to make her second title defense in a rematch of her March 2016 victory over Shevchenko (14-2).
Instead, for the third straight year, the UFC has been forced to cancel the main event of its annual International Fight Week show on short notice.
In July last year, Jon Jones was removed from his bout against Daniel Cormier three days before UFC 200 for violating the promotion’s anti-doping policy.
Fenerbahce on Thursday earned a rare 2-1 win in England, but were still knocked out of the UEFA Europa League by Nottingham Forest in the playoffs. Forest entered the second leg with a healthy 3-0 lead from the opener in Istanbul — where Vitor Pereira made an impact in his first game in charge — and that proved enough to advance to the round-of-16 with a 4-2 aggregate score. The result was a boost for Forest, struggling at 17th place in the Premier League, in their return to Europe after three decades. They next face Real Betis Balompie or Kerem Akturkoglu gave Fenerbahce
Soccer officials yesterday offered “full support and assistance” to the Iranian team in Australia for the AFC Women’s Asian Cup after the US and Israel launched massive attacks on their homeland. Iran’s 26-strong squad arrived on the Gold Coast days before the strikes on Saturday killed supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, as Washington and Tel Aviv seek to topple the Islamic republic. They are due to open their tournament today against South Korea. The AFC in a statement said it “continues to closely monitor the recent developments in the Middle East during this challenging period.” “The AFC’s foremost priority remains the welfare, safety and
ROAD RASH: Marc Marquez retired after a crash, marking the first time after 88 consecutive races stretching back to 2021 that a Ducati bike failed to make the podium Marco Bezzecchi yesterday won the MotoGP season-opening grand prix in Thailand from pole position as defending world champion Marc Marquez retired late with a buckled wheel. Aprilia’s Bezzecchi led from start to finish to top the podium in Buriram, with KTM’s Pedro Acosta second and Trackhouse’s Raul Fernandez third. Ducati’s Marquez is chasing a record-equaling eighth world title this season, but he exited the race in dramatic fashion while in fourth place with five laps to go. The Spaniard, who started from second on the grid, took a corner wide, with the jolt to his bike dislodging the rear tire, badly damaging his
EVERY DAY A VICTORY: Players on the women’s team faced pressure from society just getting out onto the field as they prepare for their first Women’s Asian Cup game today Bangladesh’s national soccer team face daunting odds at their first-ever Women’s Asian Cup, but have already scored a major victory by qualifying. In the South Asian nation of 170 million, social stigma, family expectations, poverty and religious hardliners have long relegated women and girls to sports sidelines. The first women’s soccer league matches took place in 2011 and the squad, known to fans as the Red and Green, have kept pressing forward despite deeply embedded prejudices. “Many more girls would have joined us if the community had been even slightly supportive,” captain Afeida Khandaker told AFP ahead of her side’s March 3
RSS