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UFC women's bantamweight champion Amanda Nunes explained her withdrawal as the headliner on Saturday night's UFC 213 card in Las Vegas due to chronic sinusitis. Nunes, 29, was scheduled to defend her title against Valentina Shevchenko but withdrew at the last minute, citing medical reasons. Nunes was taken to the hospital Saturday morning after becoming ill.
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UFC president Dana White told ESPN that Nunes opted to pull out despite being cleared to fight by physicians on Friday and Saturday.
Nunes (14-4) explained her side of the story in a social media post Sunday.
"Everyone is wanting to hear my side so hear it is," Nunes wrote on Twitter. "I have chronic sinusitis. I fought with it before but this time it didn't work out. During the weight cut, I was unable to breathe and felt off balance from the pressure in my sinuses. I was not feeling well enough to risk getting punched in the head with such pressure.
"I was taken to the hospital after weigh-ins and they only checked my blood and dehydration so (they) cleared me based on that. The next day I went back and I was prescribed antibiotics and referred to a specialist. I have never pulled out of a fight before. I am sorry to all my fans that came out to see me. I'll make it up to you the next time I step in the cage. The fight is being rescheduled. I still want this fight. I still want this opponent."
Shevchenko (14-2) was pulled from UFC 213 shortly after Nunes' withdrawal. In a statement on Saturday, Shevchenko accused Nunes of trying to improperly cut weight, which led to her removal.
"When you receive notice you can fight, but you don't want to fight, it's like, you had three months to prepare," Shevchenko said. "It's a big, huge event. You can't just say, 'Oh no, I don't feel good today.' My goal is to be the champion and I don't care (against) who, when and where."
The UFC plans to rebook the 135-pound title fight to a UFC 215 event, scheduled for Sept. 9 in Edmonton, Alberta.
A frustrated White, however, said he would not trust Nunes to headline again.
"It was 90 percent mental and probably 10 percent physical," White said Saturday night. "A lot of fighters have had times they didn't feel right and we've had guys who are outright sick.
"I don't think I've ever had a situation like (this) where she was physically capable of fighting. I won't do that again. I won't main event that title again."
Shevchenko was paid $70,000 to offset her disappointment, and Nunes received nothing, according to USA Today.
"We didn't pay her," White said. "We have never see anything like this from her before. There is no pattern of her refusing to fight somebody. She was medically cleared, physically OK. They found nothing wrong with her, but she didn't feel right. You can't make anybody fight. Was it the weight cut? No. She might not have been affected by the weight cut, but she was healthy."
