Even though fans didn't see the rematch between UFC women's bantamweight champion Amanda Nunes and Valentina Shevchenko take place at Saturday's UFC 213, it appears they won't have to wait too long to see them battle.
Speaking at the UFC 213 post-fight press conference, UFC president Dana White said the plan is to have Nunes and Shevchenko square off at UFC 215 on Sept. 9 when the company holds their first event in Edmonton.
"Both Nunes and Shevchenko have been offered for UFC 215 in Edmonton," White said,
Early Saturday morning, Nunes went to a Las Vegas hospital for an undisclosed illness. A few hours later, it was announced the fight was off even though Nunes had been cleared by a UFC doctor. White said Nunes just didn't feel right and chose not to fight.
The build-up for a potential fight in September has already started. Speaking to the media during UFC 213, Shevchenko stopped just short of saying Nunes was afraid to fight her.
“Why has it happened? Nobody knows,” Shevchenko said. “If you said you are good with conditioning, you are healthy – go fight. You don’t want? What does it mean?”
Even if the fight at UFC 215 doesn't come to fruition, Shevchenko knows that one day she will compete for the UFC championship. Not only will she fight for it, she will emerge victorious.
“My time will come,” Shevchenko said. “I will be fighting for the title, and I’ll have it.”
