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The reign of Nicco Montano as the UFC's first women's flyweight champion has come to an end.
UFC President Dana White said today 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 becomes vacant, so the title is released," 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 directly."
Montano, 29, was stricken from her first fight this morning when she was taken to a local hospital for medical security 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 in the process of reducing weight when the UFC medical team determined that she could not continue and l'. Has been transported to the hospital to treat its kidney function.
Earlier in the day, 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 inaugural women's featherweight title was won by Germaine de Randamie as she refused to face No. 1 contender and current champion 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 already said she can withdraw from the fight at any time," Shevchenko wrote on her Instagram page. "She was already trying to avoid this fight a few times. This is 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 a ESPN.com reporter Ariel Helwani.
For more information on UFC 228, visit the UFC Rumors section of the site.
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