MMA fighter Amanda Nunes yesterday "was pulled" from her bantamweight title fight against Valentina Shevchenko, the scheduled "main event" for UFC 213 last night at T-Mobile Arena. UFC President Dana White said that Nunes "was taken to a hospital for an undisclosed illness both Friday and Saturday morning after she said she didn't feel well." He said that Nunes was "cleared to fight by a doctor but was pulled because 'she said she didn't want to fight.'" It marks the "third consecutive year that the UFC has been forced to cancel the main event" of its annual Int'l Fight Week show "on short notice" (ESPN.com, 7/9). UFC 213 ticket holders can "request a full refund" since the main event was taken "off the card" (WASHINGTONPOST.com, 7/9).
The interim middleweight title fight between Robert Whittaker and Yoel Romero, which went five rounds, "took some of the edge off" anger shown by some fans (SPORTS.YAHOO.com, 7/9). But it was the "absence of Nunes-Shevchenko that dominated the night" (L.A. TIMES, 7/9). Overall, it was one of the UFC’s "more forgettable nights" (USATODAY.com, 7/9). UFC 213 recorded a live gate of $2.4M and attendance of 12,834 (UFC).
