Valentina Shevchenko vs. Joanna Jedrzejczyk re-inked for UFC 231
Officials have re-shuffled the deck after inking a deal for heavyweight champion Daniel Cormier to put his belt on the line against Derrick Lewis.
That means not only will Cormier vs. Lewis take the headlining spot at UFC 230, the recently proposed bout for the vacant women's flyweight belt between Valentina Shevchenko and Sijara Eubanks has been nixed.
Shevchenko was originally slated to fight Joanna Jedrzejczyk in the co-main event slot at UFC 231 on Dec. 8 in Toronto, but when it appeared that UFC 230 would be without a championship main event, promotion officials pulled her to fight at UFC 230. Jedrzejczyk insisted that she had other obligations and would not be ready for a Nov. 3 date at Madison Square Garden, so the UFC slotted in Eubanks, The Ultimate Fighter Season 26 finalist, opposite Shevchenko at UFC 230.
After Lewis staged a final-minute comeback against Alexander Volkov at UFC 229 over the weekend, Cormier was persuaded to put his belt on the line against "The Black Beast." With that bout taking up the headlining spot at UFC 230, company president Dana White told ESPN that the fight between Shevchenko and Jedrzejczyk was back on for UFC 231 in Toronto.
Eubanks, of course, isn't happy with the move, as she was supposed to fight for the belt at the TUF 26 Finale, but was derailed by complications with her weight cut. She has once again had an opportunity for fight for the title go to the wayside, although it wasn't a fight that most fans or pundits believed was deserving of the 3-2 fighter.
Shevchenko vs. Jedrzejczyk still holds the co-main event slot at UFC 231, as featherweight champion Max Holloway is expected to put his belt on the line against Brian Ortega in the evening's headliner.
