(Subscribe to MMAWeekly.com on YouTube)
UFC women’s bantamweight champion Amanda Nunes and challenger Valentina Shevchenko will rematch at UFC 215: Johnson vs. Borg, but the fight was supposed to have already taken place.
Nunes vs. Shevchenko 2 was initially slated to happen at UFC 213 in July of 2017. The fighters made it all the way through the weigh-in, both women hitting the mark and getting approval for the bout.
Everything came crumbling down on fight day, however. Battling a chronic illness, Nunes didn’t feel well enough to fight.
“I have chronic sinusitis. I have fought with it before, but this time it didn’t work out. During the weight cut, I was unable to breath and felt off balance from the pressure in my sinuses. I was not feeling well enough to risk getting punched in the head with such pressure,” the champ said at the time.
Her withdrawal was met with heavy criticism, including that of her opponent and UFC president Dana White.
Leading up to UFC 215, Nunes addressed her withdrawal from UFC 213 and the criticism that she received.
