Nicco Montano to Defend Her Title Against Valentina Shevchenko at UFC 228

Nicco Montano will be defending her UFC women’s flyweight championship for the first time against Valentina Shevchenko. UFC has confirmed the news and the bout is scheduled to take place at UFC 228 at American Airlines Center in Dallas, Texas. ESPN’s Ariel Helwani first reported the news.

Nicco is the first women’s flyweight champion and she won the belt after beating Roxanne Modafferi via unanimous decision at the Ultimate Fighter 26 Finale. Montano holds a professional record of four wins and two losses.

Valentina has been calling out Montano on many occasions. There was some confusion regarding the fight and it seems everything has been settled and the fight will take place at UFC 228. Valentina is a veteran of the sport and she is going to be a real tough test for Montano. She has only three professional losses in her career with 15 wins. Her only two losses in the UFC are against Amanda Nunes, both of which she lost via unanimous decision. This will Shevchenko’s second fight in the flyweight division. Her first bout was against Priscila Cachoeira which she won the fight pretty easily with a second-round rear-naked choke in February at UFC Fight Night 125 held in Brazil.

Shevchenko is expected to be the favorite entering this fight and Montano will have to be cautious and smart facing someone as experienced as her. Shevchenko has fought with the best of the best including fighters like Juliana Pena, Holly Holm, Amanda Nunes, and Liz Carmouche.