Sijara Eubanks was supposed to fight Nicco Montano for the vacant UFC Women’s Flyweight Title in the main event of the UFC Ultimate Fighter 26 Finale.
Eubanks would pull out of the fight on the day before the event due to the effects of her weight cut and she would get replaced by Roxanne Modafferi.
“I had collapsed a little bit there,” Eubanks said on The MMA Hour. “And I came to and my coaches were with me, Jamal Patterson, and Clint from the UFC PI, and I was like, ‘Just drag me into the sauna,’ because I couldn’t make my way there and they were like, ‘No. If you’re to the point where we have to physically drag you to the sauna, there’s probably something wrong.’ So Clint decided to call ‘Dr. D’ (Jeffrey Davidson) from the UFC and once he got on the phone I kind of knew he wasn’t going to be too happy with the symptoms. And I was like, ‘Naw, just drag me in there. We’ve got five more, don’t tell nobody, just drag me in.’ Dr. D was like, ‘I think she needs her vitals checked.’ So they called the paramedics and they checked my vitals and my heart rate was just super high and it would plummet when I sat down. When I stood up, my heart rate would shoot back up again. If I was laying down, my blood pressure was good, but as soon as I sat up or stood up, my blood pressure would drop. Then they were like, ‘We’ve got to take you into the hospital and have you tested.’ That’s when I had my little breakdown because I figured once I got brought into the ER, my night was over.”
Montano would earn a decision victory over Modafferi to win the UFC Women’s Flyweight Title, while Eubanks future in the division isn’t known at this time.
Despite the issues surrounding the failed weight cut, the TUF alumni still wants to hold the title that has eluded her thus far.
“My goal is to be the champion,” Eubanks said. “My goal is to fight in the UFC for the rest of my career. My goal is to be the best woman to ever step foot in the cage and I felt like part of my process of moving forward and getting back to where I was is to sit down at the fights and hold my head up and move forward.”
There is no word on when Eubanks will get back inside the Octagon or if she will get a title shot upon said return.
