The reign of Nicco Montano as the UFC's first female flyweight champion has come to an end.

UFC President Dana White said on Friday TSN that the flyweight championship is now vacant and that No. 1 candidate Valentina Shevchenko (15-3 MMA, 4-2 UFC) will face an opponent later this year to determine the new incumbent.

"The belt is released, so the title is canceled," White said later when presenting the UFC 228 weigh-in on FS1. "Obviously, Shevchenko is dying to fight for this title so we are trying to do another fight before the end of the year.

Montano (4-2 MMA, 1-0 UFC) was not immediately available for comment. His coach and manager, Tom Vaughn, told MMAjunkie that he had "heard nothing from the UFC."

Montano, 29, was stricken from her fight for the first time Friday morning, when she was taken to a hospital in the area for medical safety reasons. She never participated in the event that will take place Saturday at the American Airlines Center in Dallas.

Montano's teammate said today at MMAFighting.com that Montano was reducing weight when the UFC medical team determined that she could not continue and had taken to the hospital to treat kidney function.

Earlier Friday, Vaughn told MMAjunkie that it was not Montano's choice to stop the weight reduction process. He added that the ex-champion was now being cared for and released from the hospital. He declined further comments.

Montano becomes the second female UFC champion to be stripped of a title before defending him. The first women's featherweight title was won by Germaine de Randamie, who refused to face Cris Cyborg.

Following the dismissal of Montano, a women's fight between Jessica Andrade and Karolina Kowalkiewicz was placed at the top of the list of paid players, while John Dodson and Jimmie Rivera found themselves facing a heavyweight. the main map.

Shevchenko issued a statement strongly criticizing Montano's actions and questioned the official version of his story.

"I have already said, she can withdraw from the fight at any time," wrote Shevchenko on her Instagram page. "She was already trying to avoid this fight many times, it's my (third) preparation for this fight.

"It looks like it was his plan from the beginning, to show up at the fight week, to make a name, to speak confidently and safely, and then to escape from the fight in the last minutes. "

Shevchenko will be compensated for the canceled fight, according to ESPN.com reporter Ariel Helwani.