Montano: Shevchenko ‘lying bully, egomaniac’
EX-UFC women’s champ upset by rival’s criticism
Nicco Montano’s run as the first UFC women’s flyweight champion is over before she had a chance to defend her title.
Montano, who became the inaugural 125-pound champ by winning a tournament on “The Ultimate Fighter” last year, was stripped of the belt Friday when she was hospitalized while cutting weight for her scheduled defense against Valentina Shevchenko at UFC 228 in Dallas.
She was far from pleased with the organization’s ruling after learning about it on Instagram.
“If you ask me, it’s completely uncalled for,” she said on social media. “There have been plenty other fighters who have not been punished for a lot more. Unfortunately I’m not one to be running my mouth so I don’t bring in the big bucks.”
Montano saved her harshest words for Shevchenko. The former bantamweight title challenger has been pestering Montano to step in the cage against her since the night she won the belt in December.
Shevchenko has accused Montano of everything from faking illness to begging the UFC to let her fight someone else in order to avoid fighting Shevchenko.
She doubled down on the accusations Friday.
“I am not surprised about this situation with Nicco,” Shevchenko said in a post. “She was trying to avoid this fight several times already. It looks like it was her plan from the beginning, to show up for the fight week, to build up her name, speak confident and secure, and then escape from the fight in the last minutes. She speaks about fighting spirit and character. What kind of fighting spirit is she talking about?
“I don’t believe in a version about health issues. Her actions are totally Coveringthecage.com and @Rj_sports on Twitter.
unprofessional.”
In her statement, the normally soft-spoken Montano didn’t hold back on her feelings of Shevchenko, whom she referred to as a “lying bully” and an “egomaniac.”
“She’s obsessed with me and has too much time on her hands,” Montano wrote. “Not only has she been (disrespectful) and jealous of my efforts and accomplishments, blocking me first on Instagram during her first fight at 125 pounds, but the fact that she takes pride in kicking a person while (they’re) going through surgery and having their kidneys shut down truly demonstrates what a martial artist should not be.”
Woodley could return in November
UFC welterweight champion Tyron Woodley didn’t rule out a return to the cage on the Nov. 3 pay-perview card at Madison Square Garden in New York after making quick work of Darren Till on Saturday night in Dallas.
Woodley said he’s just waiting on a call from UFC officials for a bout that could involve top contender Colby Covington, who rejected the fight against Woodley on Saturday because of nasal surgery.
Contact Adam Hill at ahill@ reviewjournal.com or 702-277-8028. Follow @Adamhilllvrj on Twitter.