It’s not the main event or for a title, but Sijara Eubanks will fight inside Madison Square Garden after all. According to Newsday, “Sarge” will face off against Roxanne Modafferi at the upcoming UFC 230 pay-per-view (PPV) event on Nov. 3, 2018 in New York, N.Y.
Sijara was initially booked to face off against Valentina Shevchenko for the vacant women’s Flyweight title in the headlining act. But just as quickly as that fight was handed to her, it was taken away by UFC matchmakers after a Heavyweight title fight between Daniel Cormier and Derrick Lewis was pegged as the new headliner.
As a result, Shevchenko was re-booked to face Joanna Jedrzejczyk for the 125-pound strap at UFC 231 on Dec. 8, 2018 in Toronto, Ontario, Canada; which was the original plan all along.
After learning of UFC’s decision to take her out of the title fight, Sijara went on a Twitter tirade, slamming the “cowards” at the UFC front office for “playing with her career,” going as far as saying they’d regret it if they took the championship fight away from here.
Those threats didn’t seem to rattle Dana White or Mick Maynard, as Eubanks will now have to settle for a rematch against “The Happy Warrior.” Sijara initially defeated Roxanne in the semifinals of The Ultimate Fighter (TUF) 26 to earn her shot at first-ever women’s flyweight strap.
Eubanks, however, was forced out of the title fight against Nicco Montano one day before the event after falling ill during her weight cut, which ultimately landed her in the hospital. In an interesting twist, Roxanne was pegged as her replacement in the title fight, though she ultimately came up short against Nicco.
Now, Eubanks will get the opportunity to prove her worth to UFC once again if she can manage to take out “The Happy Warrior” for a second time. With a win, “Sarge” could very well stamp her ticket to the big dance.