Photo by Brandon Magnus/Zuffa LLC/Zuffa LLC via Getty Images
Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC), in what has become a troubling trend these last few months, will once again be forced to rework an upcoming line up during fight week, as former women’s flyweight champion, Nicco Montano, suffered an MCL sprain and was ruled medically unfit to compete.
Stepping in on short notice to take her place is Invicta FC import Shanna Young, who in a weird twist of circumstances, was yanked from her Daiana Torquato last Friday due to illness, but has apparently made a full recovery and will be ready for this weekend’s action.
“These things unfortunately do happen to athletes, just wish it never happened to me,” Montano wrote on Instagram. “However, I do believe things happen for a reason. And believe me, there is nobody who is more saddened than me about having the opportunity to shine doing what I love in front of the people I love slip through my fingers. I am doing everything in my power to heal quickly to get back in the Octagon. I’ve decided to keep my physical therapy going under the watchful eye of the UFC Performance Institute staff.”
Montano (4-3) was expected to fight flyweight upstart Macy Chiasson at the upcoming UFC Fight Night 167 mixed martial arts (MMA) event, scheduled for this Sat. night (Feb. 15, 2020) inside Santa Ana Star Center in Rio Rancho, New Mexico.
It’s been a rough couple of years for the 31 year-old ex-champ, who only competed once over the last two years — a decision loss to Julianna Pena at UFC Sacramento — and was forced to surrender her title when she was bounced from her Valentina Shevchenko fight.
See the reworked UFC Rio Rancho fight card here.