Injury forces Nicco Montano out of UFC Rio Rancho; Macy Chiasson to fight Shanna Young

Former UFC champion Nicco Montano has suffered an injury and won’t be able to compete Saturday in her bantamweight bout at UFC on ESPN+ 25.

As a result, Montano’s scheduled opponent, Macy Chiasson, will fight Invicta FC veteran Shanna Young. MMA Junkie confirmed the news Monday following an initial report by MMA Fighting, which added that Montano’s withdrawal was the result of a recent Grade 2 MCL sprain. Montano had traveled to the UFC Performance Institute in Las Vegas for treatment but was unable to recover in time to compete.

Montano, who became the inaugural UFC women’s flyweight champ in December 2017, has struggled to remain active, which led to her being stripped of the title in Septemeber 2018. Aside from her title-winning performance, she’s fought just one other time, dropping a unanimous decision to Julianna Pena last July at UFC on ESPN+ 13.

Young might be considered a surprise replacement. The 28-year-old was supposed to fight last Friday at Invicta FC 39, but she fell ill and was deemed medically unfit to compete. Eight days later, she’ll make her UFC debut on short notice against Chiasson, winner of “The Ultimate Fighter 28” looking to rebound from the first loss of her career.

UFC on ESPN+ 25 takes place Saturday at Santa Ana Star Center in Rio Ranco, N.M. The entire card streams on ESPN+.

With the change, the UFC on ESPN+ 25 lineup includes:

• Corey Anderson vs. Jan Blachowicz
• Michel Pereira vs. Diego Sanchez
• John Dodson vs. Nathaniel Wood
• Yancy Medeiros vs. Lando Vannata
• Mark De La Rosa vs. Raulian Paiva
• Rogerio Bontorin vs. Ray Borg
• Montana De La Rosa vs. Mara Romero Borella
• Macy Chiasson vs. Shanna Young
• Merab Dvalishvili vs. Casey Kenney
• Scott Holtzman vs. Jim Miller
• Kazula Vargas vs. Brok Weaver
• Tim Means vs. Daniel Rodriguez
• Devin Clark vs. Dequan Townsend