Valentina Shevchenko vs. Joanna Jedrzejczyk is back on for UFC 231 now that Daniel Cormier vs. Derrick Lewis is headlining UFC 230, according to Dana White.
Valentina Shevchenko has had an unfortunate several weeks. First she was scheduled to fight for the flyweight title against Nicco Montano for UFC 228, but the bout fell through when Montano had to be transported to the hospital after struggling to make weight.
This left Joanna Jedrzejczyk as an interesting option, who expressed interest in moving up in weight to fight Shevchenko. A title fight was announced for UFC 231 between the two. But when they desperately needed a title fight for UFC 230 and Jedrzejczyk wasn’t interested in fighting that quickly, the 3-2 Sijara Eubanks was inserted in against Shevchenko. Yea, the rest of the world didn’t get it either.
With Daniel Cormier vs. Derrick Lewis being made official for Nov. 3 at Madison Square Garden though, the shuffling allows the original matchup — Shevchenko vs. Jedrzejczyk — to proceed at UFC 231, which Dana White confirmed.
I asked Dana White via text if this means he'll move Valentina Shevchenko back to Toronto, against Joanna Jedrzejczyk. He responded "yes."
— Brett Okamoto (@bokamotoESPN) October 9, 2018
This sets the main (Max Holloway vs. Brian Ortega) and co-main event for UFC 231 in Toronto, Canada.
Joanna appears ready, and willing after the matchup was pulled in favor of the novice. No word on Eubanks’ replacement, who is coming off a win over Lauren Murphy after returning to flyweight at UFC Fight Night 131.
UFC 231 goes down December 8th in Toronto.
