Nicco Montano Injured; Macy Chiasson Now Faces Shanna Young at UFC Rio Rancho

A last minute injury has forced Nicco Montano to withdraw from a bantamweight clash against Macy Chiasson at UFC Rio Rancho on Saturday.

MMAFighting.com was first to report that Montano had withdrawn from the bout due to a sprained MCL in her knee. As a result, Shanna Young will step in on less than a week’s notice to face Chiasson in the bantamweight bout.

UFC Fight Night 167 takes place at the Santa Ana Star Center in Rio Rancho, N.M., and is headlined by a light heavyweight rematch between Corey Anderson and Jan Blachowicz. The card will stream in its entirety on ESPN+. Chiasson vs. Young is slated for the early preliminary portion of the card, which begins at 5 p.m. ET/2 p.m. PT.

Montano, the promotion’s inaugural flyweight champion, made her bantamweight debut at UFC Fight Night 155, where she dropped a unanimous verdict to Julianna Pena on July 13. The New Mexico native was stripped of the flyweight crown when she was unable to defend the belt in a timely fashion due to various issues after winning “The Ultimate Fighter 26.”

Young was supposed to compete at Invicta FC 39 last Friday against Daiana Torquato but was deemed medically unfit to compete after suffering an illness. Young was submitted by Sarah Alpar on Season 3 of Dana White’s Contender Series last summer but rebounded to outpoint Maiju Suotama at Invicta FC 38.

Chiasson won “TUF 28” and began her Octagon tenure with three consecutive finishes. However, she is coming off her first career defeat at UFC Fight Night 160, where she dropped a decision to Lina Lansberg.