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What's the story?
The UFC made a shocking announcement on Tuesday in regards to the main event of UFC 230. After several talks went on around about who will be headlining the UFC 230 event, it was decided that Valentina Shevchenko will be taking on Sijara Eubanks for the vacant flyweight title.
This comes as a surprise to many as it was initially decided that former strawweight champion, Joanna Jedrzejczyk, would be fighting Shevchenko for the flyweight belt at UFC 231 on December 8th, in the city of Toronto.
In case you didn't know...
This is the third time that Shevchenko has been scheduled for a flyweight title this year. Shevchenko was supposed to compete for the flyweight title previously against Nicco Montano, on September 8th, for the UFC 228 event. However, this fight was canceled as just 48 hours before the fight, Montano faced complications due to her weight cut for the bout, and was forced to pull out.
UFC commentator, Joe Rogan, expressed his opinion on the updated fight card and this is what he had to say about Sijara Eubanks competing for the title:
“What?!. No offense but I don’t even know who Sijara Eubanks is and I’m the commentator for the UFC.”
The heart of the matter
Sijara Eubanks made her UFC debut in June this year by beating Lauren Murphy via unanimous decision at UFC Utica. During her run on TUF (The Ultimate Fighter), she bagged victories over Maia Stevenson, DeAnne Bennett, and Modafferi.
Nate Diaz and Dustin Poirier are also openly pressing for the main event at UFC 230 for the new 165-pound title. This hasn't officially been marked by the UFC, thus leaving room for speculation.
Joanna Jedrzejczyk is seemingly upset about her missing out a title shot. She admits to being pressurized by the UFC to move the fight for a later date, even though she signed the contract for the fight against Shevchenko. Realizing that Joanna would need a full camp to fight a competitor who possesses the stature of Shevchenko, the UFC canceled the fight and gave no intimation about the same to Joanna.
What's next?
Although Sijara Eubanks may be heavily regarded as an underdog going into this fight, it will be interesting to see her square off against Valentina Shevchenko. It would be a pity to write off Joanna in a situation like this as she herself feels confident about returning and being a two-division champion, in both the strawweight and flyweight categories.
The question that remains, however, is who is going to be the new flyweight champion in the women's division.
Any early predictions? Leave your comments and opinions below!
