LAS VEGAS _ UFC women's bantamweight champion Amanda Nunes, after being hospitalized hours earlier, has pulled out of Saturday night's UFC 213 main-event title fight against top-rated Valentina Shevchenko, UFC President Dana White confirmed to the Los Angeles Times.
In a text message to the Times, White first said, "I don't know," why Nunes (14-4) was withdrawing from the card after being examined by a physician.
"The doctor cleared her to fight. She said she doesn't feel good," White said. "It is what it is. You can't make anyone fight."
The report of Nunes' illness and withdrawal was brought to light by Ariel Helwani of mmafighting.com.
The scheduled co-main event interim middleweight title fight between Cuba's Yoel Romero and Robert Whittaker will elevate to the main event at T-Mobile Arena, and the new co-main event will be the heavyweight bout between former champion Fabricio Werdum and Alistair Overeem.
Nunes looked drained, as fighters often do, when she weighed in Friday morning, but she was able to attend the afternoon public weigh-in with Shevchenko (14-2), and duplicated Shevchenko's straight-armed pose for cameras as they faced off.
The bout will likely be rescheduled when Nunes meets full health by her standards.
In the meantime, White said women's unbeaten strawweight champion Joanna Jedrzejczyk spent Saturday morning "begging me for the fight."
Jedrzejczyk last fought in May and aimed to fight in November, but she's in town for International Fight Week and told White she would take on Shevchencko.
"Gangster," White said. "Impossible, (but) trust me, I would love to."
Medical screening and other clearances require a slightly longer period, and it's also unclear what Jedrzejczyk weighs before the Nevada Athletic Commission would clear her.
Nunes' withdrawal caps a disastrous turn for the card that usually is a stacked list of high-caliber fights during International Fight Week.
A planned middleweight title fight between champion Michael Bisping and returning welterweight champion Georges St-Pierre never materialized because St-Pierre declared he wasn't ready for the date after a three-year layoff, and then Bisping injured a knee that scrapped his possible date with Romero.
Also, new bantamweight champion Cody Garbrandt sustained an injury while training and had to back out of his planned meeting with former champion and former stablemate T.J. Dillashaw.
A certain-to-entertain welterweight fight between former champion Robbie Lawler and former lightweight title challenger Donald "Cowboy" Cerrone also was moved off UFC 213 last week when Cerrone labored through injuries. That fight has been moved to UFC 214 in Anaheim on July 29, a loaded card that includes three title fights headlined by the light-heavyweight title rematch between champion Daniel Cormier and former champion Jon Jones.
