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MMA

07th Sep 2018

UFC 228 title fight cancelled as champion is transported to hospital

It's still a solid card

Darragh Murphy

After all the worrying about Darren Till’s weight, it seems that the UFC forgot that another title fight might fall apart.

Till weighed in at a comfortable 169lbs ahead of his welterweight title shot and champion Tyron Woodley closely followed by tipping the scales at 170lbs with the help of the towel.

The UFC 228 headliner was made official but the card will go ahead with just one title fight as the flyweight championship bout between Nicco Montano and Valentina Shevchenko has officially been cancelled.

Shevchenko was heavily favoured to claim the 125lbs title in Dallas on Saturday night but the fight has been scrapped after champion Montano needed medical attention during her weight cut.

Shevchenko came in at 124.5lbs and it remains to be seen what will happen with the title after Montano was transported to hospital before weighing in on Friday.

A UFC statement reads: “As a precautionary measure, UFC flyweight Nicco Montaño was transported to a medical facility Friday morning due to health concerns.

“The scheduled flyweight championship bout between Montaño and Valentina Shevchenko at UFC 228 has been cancelled.

“UFC 228 takes place at American Airlines Center in Dallas, TX on Saturday night live on Pay-Per-View at 10pm/7pm ETPT. Tyron Woodley takes on Darren Till with his welterweight championship on the line in the main event.”

The No. 6-ranked Kamaru Usman had been drafted in as a potential replacement if Till, who has missed weight ahead of two of his six UFC fights, failed to hit his target.

But the lack of a back-up plan for the co-main event looks to have come back to bite the UFC in the backside.