The rescheduling of the bout really comes as no surprise, given UFC 214 at the end of July is already packed with three title fights. A planned PPV in August, originally UFC 215 until UFC 216 in Edmonton was renumbered, was canceled due to the Mayweather-McGregor fight that month.

Per the Combate report, Nunes vs. Shevchenko 2 will not be the main event at UFC 215, meaning UFC President Dana White is staying true to his word about keeping Nunes out of the main event picture, at least for now.

The bout, when it finally does take place, will be a rematch of the pair’s UFC 196 bout from March of last year. Nunes won that first fight via unanimous decision.

UFC 215 takes place September 9 in Edmonton in the Canadian province of Alberta at the Rogers Place arena. Also set for the card are the following bouts:

Amanda Nunes vs. Valentina Shevchenko
Junior Dos Santos vs. Francis Ngannou
Henry Cejudo vs. Wilson Reis
Gilbert Melendez vs. Jeremy Stephens
Ilir Latif vs. Tyson Pedro
Gavin Tucker vs. Rick Glenn
Ashlee Evans-Smith vs. Sarah Moras
Luis Henrique vs. Arjan Bhullar
Sara McMann vs. Ketlen Vieira

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Today, Nunes released a statement via her official Twitter presenting her side of the story. In light of the cancellation, many fans had taken to attacking the star online, especially given she had reportedly been cleared to fight yet pulled out of the event regardless.

Everyone is wanting to hear my side so here it is….. I have chronic sinusitis, I have fought with it before but this time it didn’t work out, during the weight cut I was unable to breath and felt off balance from the pressure in my sinuses. I was not feeling well enought 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 cleared me based on that. The next day I went back and did a CT scan and found a build up 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. Thank you.

No word yet on exactly when the fight will be rescheduled. The UFC’s next major event, UFC 214, takes place at the end of the month in Anaheim, CA, but already plays host to a trio of title fights counting Daniel Cormier vs. Jon Jones, Cris Cyborg vs. Tonya Evinger, and Tyron Woodley vs. Demian Maia.

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Yoel Romero entered the night having gone undefeated in his UFC career, with notable wins over the likes of Lyoto Machida, Ronaldo Souza and Chris Weidman. In his most recent fight at UFC 205 he finished Weidman with a flying knee to earn the KO victory. Romero, an American Top Team product and former Olympic Freestyle Wrestling silver medalist was looking to earn UFC gold for the first time Saturday in Nevada.

Robert Whittaker, winner of TUF: The Smashes entered the cage Saturday night riding a seven fight win streak. Whittaker had collected notable wins over Rafael Natal, Derek Brunson and most recently Ronaldo Souza by TKO at UFC on Fox: Johnson vs. Reis in Kansas City, Missouri earlier this year.

One man’s streak would come to an end, while both men faced off in hopes of securing UFC gold and unifying the belts in the near future.

The first round saw both fighters come out utilizing their kicks and Whittaker working the jab and maintaining distance. Romero shot in for the take down and succeed but
Whittaker popped right back to his feet. Romero came back with a flying knee that just missed. Both fighters scrambled and Romero pushed Whittaker back into the cage, with
Romero working knees. Whittaker broke free, however Whittaker was showing signs of a slight limp. Romero shot and and momentarily took Whittaker to the ground but
he bounced back up and fired back with a high kick to end the round.

The second saw Whittaker come out quickly with punches and kicks. Romero landed the take down and was able to secure Whittaker’s back, only to have him work to his feet and get to the cage, where the ref eventually separated the two. After a quick exchange Romero scored the take down again to end the round.

The third round saw Romero shoot for the take down again, only to be stuffed by Whittaker who then answered with his own shots. Romero was clipped by one and it sent him into the cage. Romero was looking tentative now, with Whittaker pushing the pace. Romero again went for the take down and Whittaker shut him down and followed with a knee to the body. The round ended with Romero looking fatigued.

The fourth saw Whittaker keep up the volume of push kicks mixed with body kicks. Romero continued to look for the take down pushing Whittaker into the cage and taking his back. Whittaker broke free and Romero shot again still not finding the mark. Whittaker’s leg was showing the damage and almost buckled but that didn’t stop him from throwing a strong left followed by a flurry of blows. Romero answered back with a leg kick and another take down attempt, that Whitttaker escaped from. Whittaker landed a hard shot, hurting Romero who reacted by shooting for the take down, but Whittaker got out of the way. The round end with Romero breathing hard and looking tired

The final round saw much of the same with Whittaker using the push kick to maintain distance. Romero did what he could with the gas he had left in the tank landing
a good left, only to be answered by a push kick and a left from Whittaker. Romero shot in and Whittaker landed the trip ending up on top in guard. Whittaker got into half guard and dropped some strong elbows at the end of the round. It went to the scorecards, and when all was said and done, Robert Whittaker was your new interim middleweight champion!

Robert Whittaker def. Yoel Romero by unanimous decision (48-47, 48-47, 48-47)

After the bout middleweight champ Michael Bisping entered the cage, congratulating both men on the fight, but saying Whittaker should be embarrassed for calling himself champion. He then threw down his belt, challenging Whittaker, who is expected to face Bisping next.

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Finally, Fabricio Werdum stepped inside the octagon again at UFC 213. The #1 ranked heavyweight contender hadn’t fought in almost ten months, when he dominated Travis Browne in their rematch at UFC 203. Two cancelled bouts against Cain Velasquez and Ben Rothwell meant a lot of time out of action for ‘Vai Cavalo.’

Alistair Overeem rebounded well after being knocked out by Stipe Miocic that very night at UFC 203 in Cleveland, as ‘The Reem’ became one of the few men to knock out Mark Hunt at UFC 209 with a vicious series of knees, earning him a performance of the night bonus.

That brought us to UFC 213 on Saturday.

The rubber match began with Werdum attempting the same flying side kick he did in the opening to his last fight with Travis Browne. Both men seemed to be freezing up in front of each other as they tried to suss out each others strategies.

With little significant strikes being landed between the two men, it was clear Overeem tried to force Werdum into being the aggressor, and feed off this by landing counter strikes. A hard lead uppercut and knee to the body seemed to stagger ‘Vai Cavalo’ for a brief moment.

Werdum picked up the pace in the third round, as his volume of strikes increased. He then dropped Overeem with a hard knee, after pulling guard ‘Vai Cavalo’ tried to secure a guillotine choke but Overeem managed to break free.

It was clear that Overeem had won the second round, and Werdum had dominated the third. But it was the first round that was open to interpretation and made this fight a tough one to call.

Alistair Overeem def. Fabricio Werdum via majority decision (28-28, 29-28, 29-28)

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With a touch of the gloves, the action got underway. Blaydes looked to shoot early and wound up pressing his opponent against the cage. A couple of unintentional low blows caused the ref to break up the action and restart it in the center, eliminating the dominant position for Blaydes rather than taking a point. Omielańczuk looked for the neck as Blaydes pushed him back up the cage wall once more. Blaydes would try to take his opponent down, but Omielańczuk employed a whizzer and was able to defend.

They broke, and worked back to the center. Omielańczuk landed a body kick, and Blaydes looked to land an uppercut but whiffed. Blaydes continued to look for the takedown, but remained unable to finish. A lot of wall and stall followed, much to the displeasure of the crowd. Towards the end of the round, Omielańczuk connected in a final exchange. That took us to the second.

In round two, more work alongside the cage opened the round. Omielańczuk continued to show strong takedown defense, but it became a question of why the ref didn’t break them up. They finally moved back to the center on their own, with Blaydes working in a good leg kick, and Omielańczuk looking to land shots from the southpaw stance. Omielańczuk landed a knee following an exchange of punches, which led Blaydes to push the Polish fighter against the cage again momentarily. Though bobbing and weaving well in the round, Blaydes wasn’t able to do much, and was again warned for a low blow. From that point, it was more of the same to end the round.

The third saw Omielańczuk tagged, then catch Blaydes with a solid shot of his own, but neither men was really in danger of being finished. Omielańczuk showed some flashy striking ability at the end of the round, but it was likely too little, too late. The bout went to the judges scorecards, with all three judges seeing it for Blaydes.

Curtis Blaydes def. Daniel Omielańczuk by unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27)

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Former UFC and WEC Lightweight Champion Anthony “Showtime” Pettis entered the cage after suffering a TKO loss in December of last year to now-featherweight champion Max Holloway. At UFC 213, Showtime looked to get back to his winning ways with a win over Jim Miller.

UFC vetran Jim Miller, meanwhile, entered the night coming off a decision loss to Dustin Poirier in Feberuary in Brooklyn, New York at UFC 208. Prior to that loss Miller was on a three fight win streak that saw him collect wins over Takanori Gomi, Joe Lauzon and Thiago Alves. Saturday Miller looked to get back on track with a win over the former champion.

Which man would get back in the win column in Las Vegas?

The first round saw Miller come out looking to work the leg kicks to slow Pettis down. He followed up with a strong left and a few more leg kicks; both fighters exchanged body kicks after that. Pettis then threw a flying knee and followed with a flurry of shots to Miller against the cage. Pettis started loosening up and pushing the pace, throwing a spinning back fist followed by a switch kick. Miller fired back with a strong overhead left to end the round.

The second round saw Pettis come out looking confident, he threw a strong head kick that Miller caught sending Pettis to the ground, but not before getting bloodied from the strike. Miller took top position but found himself in a Pettis triangle attempt. Miller was able to slip out of the triangle to land an elbow before the two scrambled and Miller was able to take Pettis’s back, a second scramble saw Pettis work himself into top position to land a few shots. Pettis worked into side control and landed a few more shots before taking Miller’s back. Pettis wasn’t able to hold on and Miller worked his way back to his feet only for Pettis to drag him back down to finish the round.

Pettis came out in the third throwing multiple kicks which Miller answered with leg kicks of his own. Pettis was utilizing his range better in the third round, and Miller went back to throwing leg kicks while trying to pressure Showtime. Miller shot in for the take down but was stuffed by Pettis and pushed into the cage. Both fighters were working inside the clinch, with Miller landing a good elbow and Pettis throwing a cartwheel kick on the break. Miller answered with his own cartwheel kick and Pettis fired back with a flying kick in response to end the round.

Anthony Pettis def. Jim Miller by unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27) 

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Early on Andrade threw some heat, but Font shot in with impressive speed and secured a takedown alongside the fence. Andrade powered back up, as Font tried to sink in a guillotine. They broke, and circled back in the center of the octagon. Font then landed a big knee to the head, which was unfortunately followed up by an eye poke off an attempted push. When action resumed Font looked to be full of energy, throwing leg kicks and rushing in with combos.

By the end of the round, Font had found a home for multiple strikes and was consistently pressing the action. Just as the bell sounded, Font tried for a guillotine, but ran out of time.

In the second, action stayed on the feet early, with Font getting the better of the exchanges. Andrade attempted to stay active with kicks, but had a hard time timing his shots and finding his range. Font, meanwhile, smartly followed up his punches with knees. A hard right dropped Andrade with under two minutes left, and Font tried to follow up but wound up taking Andrade down instead, possibly giving his opponet time to recover. Font then worked a guillotine as they got back up, which led Andrade to slam him in a futile escape attempt. When he couldn’t break free, he was forced to tap!

Rob Font def. Douglas Silva de Andrade by submission (guillotine choke), Round 2, 4:36

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Capping off the Fox Sports 1 Preliminary card of UFC 213, Browne vs. Oliynyk was the story of a veteran submission specialist against a fighter once considered one of the more promising new generation heavyweights.

Oliynyk immediately began looking to find a way inside on the much taller Browne. He did not appear afraid to trade, and swung a couple of haymakers towards Browne that didn’t land. Browne utilized kicks, and was using his reach well early. In the clinch Oliynyk landed some uppercuts to the body, but Browne rocked his opponent with a left hook, and they went to the ground. Oliynyk survived, for the time being at least. An overhand by Oliynyk dropped Browne moments later! In the clinch, Oliynyk landed more hard uppercuts to the abdomen. Browne would try for high kicks, but with a minute left Oliynyk was able to take Browne down. He would work for a choke, but Browne was saved by the bell.

In the second, Oliynyk again went to the body with every clinch. Browne, meanwhile, looked to keep the fight at range. Two minutes in, however, Browne found himself on top, grappling with the submission expert. Before long, Oliynyk had reversed position and had Browne’s back, dropping shots from behind. Before long, he had an arm under Browne’s chin and slowly tightened the choke!

Oleksiy Oliynyk def. Travis Browne by submission (rear-naked choke), Round 2, 3:44

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Tristar fighter and former TUF: Nations winner Chad Laprise entered the cage at UFC 213 coming off a swift TKO victory over Thibault Gouti at UFC on Fox: Maia vs. Condit despite missing weight. On Saturday, Laprise came in on weight and looking for the victory over Camozzi.

Former RFA champiom Brian Camozzi looked to return to the cage at the event in a bout after dropping his UFC debut fight to Randy Brown by TKO in the second round when the two met at UFC Fight Night: Lewis vs. Abdurakhimov.

The first round saw both fighters come out looking a little tentative, with Laprise showing plenty of movement and tagging Camozzi with an overhead right that he followed by a leg kick. Camozzi fired back with a few leg kicks of his own. Laprise answered with a flurry of punches and some right hands. Camozzi landed his own right in response and started to pressure Laprise. Camozzi’s leg was starting to show the effects of those Laprise leg kicks. Close to the end of the round Laprise caught a Camozzi leg kick and countered with his own, which sent Camozzi to the ground. Laprise was quick to follow in to end the round.

Both fighters came out quickly in round two, where we saw Camozzi again trying to pressure Laprise. Laprise answered with a few body shots and Camozzi answered back with both body and high kicks. Camozzi started to cut the cage off on Laprise and began landing more shots until Laprise started to pressure Camozzi to end the round.

The third saw Camozzi go back to pressing the fight and utilizing his range until Laprise landed a devastating body shot to the liver. That sent Camozzi retreating back into the cage. Laprise followed with a flurry of body shots, adding a knee that sent Camozzi to the mat. Laprise pounced on his downed opponent, firing shots until the ref had no choice but to stop the fight.

Afterwards, Laprise called for a fight at UFC 215 in Edmonton against Mickey Gall.

Chad Laprise def. Brian Camozzi by TKO, Round 3, 1:27

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Meerschaert had won both his fights in the UFC to date, and was on a seven fight winning streak overall. Could he overcome the durable Santos in their UFC 213 prelim bout?

Meerschaert was the the aggressor early, and shot for a takedown within the first minute. He was unable, however, to hold Santos down. Back on the feet, Santos began landing some heavy shots, and Meerschaert shot in out of desperation, only to wind up eating hammer fists.

At that point, Meerschaert was trying to buy time to recover, but Santos refused to abide, forcing him to stand back up. However, an eye poke stopped the action, giving Meerschaert  the break he needed. Santos, meanwhile had a nasty gash on the side of the head.

With the action restarted, Santos tagged his opponent and followed up with a knee to the body. Meerschaert shot out of desperation again, but still was unable to keep the fight on the ground. Santos was far more successful on the feet in round one, but Meerschaert managed to hang in there.

Meerschaert worked for a takedown early in the second round, but once again, could not hold his opponent down. Each takedown attempt opened him up to more shots from above, and soon enough Santos was raining bombs as Meerschaert covered up. That was enough for the ref, who waved off the action.

Thiago Santos def. Gerald Meerschaert  by TKO, Round 2, 2:04

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