It looks like the Ultimate Fighting Championship’s (UFC) patience for Nicco Montano is wearing thin.
Late last week it was reported that the UFC was looking to book Montano’s first title defense. The hope was to have Montano defend her women’s flyweight title against Valentina Shevchenko. Apparently, there isn’t a lot of movement going on.
Ariel Helwani is now reporting that the UFC can’t get a commitment from Montano to compete on the UFC Calgary card in July. The UFC wants the fight to headline the event. You can peep Helwani’s tweet below:
UFC is losing patience with Nicco Montaño. As I reported last week, the plan was for her to defend the 125 title against Valentina Shevchenko in Calgary but they are having a hard time getting a commitment from her. While it’s not scrapped, they are now looking at other options.
— Ariel Helwani (@arielhelwani) May 1, 2018
Montano became the inaugural UFC women’s flyweight champion back in Oct. 2017. She defeated Roxanne Modafferi via unanimous decision. The title bout earned “Fight of the Night” honors.
As good as the fight was, there is very much a “what have you done for me lately” stance among promoters and fans. Montano is no exception as fans have claimed she is afraid of Shevchenko. The 125-pound title holder responded to her critics by denying those claims.
It’s important to note that just a few days ago, Montano said she’s dealing with a chronic bacterial infection and that her immune system is weak:
After catching wind of Helwani’s report, Montano took to Instagram and had some choice words for Helwani:
UFC Calgary is set to take place inside the Scotiabank Saddledome in Calgary, Alberta, Canada on July 28. This will be a UFC on FOX card. In the expected co-main event, former UFC featherweight champion Jose Aldo will look to get back in the win column against Jeremy Stephens.
Also set for the card is a flyweight clash between Matheus Nicolau and Dustin Ortiz. Light heavyweights Gadzhimurad Antigulov and Ion Cutelaba are also set to mix it up. Stick with MMANews.com for more details on UFC Calgary as they become available.
If Nicco Montano can’t compete in July, what should be the UFC Calgary main event?
NOTE: Story updated to include Montano’s response to Helwani’s report
