The main event for Saturday’s UFC 213 in Las Vegas is reportedly canceled with Amanda Nunes in the hospital with an illness, per Bleacher Report’s Jeremy Botter.
Brett Okamoto of ESPN also said multiple sources told him the fight is “100 percent off.”
Ariel Helwani of MMA Fighting first reported the holdup with the 29-year-old apparently feeling unwell all week.
Nunes was set to defend her women’s bantamweight title against Valentina Shevchenko. The two first faced each other at UFC 196 in March 2016, and Nunes won by unanimous decision.
As Mike Bohn of Rolling Stone pointed out, this highly anticipated matchup was set to introduce a “new era in the UFC women’s bantamweight division,” as it is the first title bout that doesn’t feature a star such as Ronda Rousey, Meisha Tate or Holly Holm.
Nunes defeated Tate at UFC 200 last July to claim the title before defending it against Rousey at UFC 207. Shevchenko provided tough competition the last time these women faced off, however, and she earned an impressive win over Holm after her loss.
Bleacher Report’s Scott Harris discussed a possible cause of Nunes’ illness:
Yoel Romero and Robert Whittaker will battle for the UFC middleweight championship Saturday in what was supposed to be a co-headliner.
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