Former UFC Women’s Flyweight Champion Nicco Montano was unable to defend the gold against Valentina Shevchenko at UFC 228 due to health concerns during the weight cutting process.
Dana White would then announce that Montano would be stripped of the title, which she found out while browsing through Instagram.
“I was running through Instagram and I saw an interview with Dana White saying the title has been stripped,” Montano said on The MMA Hour. “I was getting out of the hospital and I was like, ‘Alrighty then.’”
Montano never did defend the gold since winning it at the UFC Ultimate Fighter 26 Finale due to a myriad of health issues.
Although Montano was initially angered about what the UFC did, but then her business side kicked in.
“It was definitely pretty sad, it was disheartening,” Montano said. “I didn’t want to have anything to do with the UFC for a bit after. My short-tempered self was like, eff this. You just almost died for a company that doesn’t even call you to make sure you’ve alive. Personally, it was kind of just like, well screw you. On the business level, if I could see it from a different perspective, I can see what they have to do — what they feel like they have to do. But just the inconsistencies with a bunch of things like this is still pretty disheartening in terms of what’s gonna happen with my career. Am I gonna want to stay in the UFC? I kind of want to stay in the UFC just to fight Valentina eventually. But just like with anything else, what else is the motivation? What else is the motivator?”
Shevchenko will still get an opportunity to become the UFC Women’s Flyweight Champion, as she’ll fight an opponent to be named at a future date.
