Valentina Shevchenko to Fight Joanna Jedrzejczyk for Title at UFC 231

Valentina Shevchenko and Joanna Jedrzejczyk will fight for the vacant UFC women's flyweight championship at UFC 231 on Dec. 8 at Scotiabank Arena in Toronto, TSN reported Thursday.

Shevchenko was supposed to challenge Nicco Montano for the title at UFC 228 in September, but the company stripped Montano of the belt after she was hospitalized shortly before the fight.

Shevchenko positioned herself for a title shot after she defeated Priscila Cachoeira at UFC Fight Night 125 in February. Jedrzejczyk lost back-to-back bouts to Rose Namajunas but beat Tecia Torres at UFC on Fox 30 in July.

After Montano lost the championship, a matchup between Shevchenko and Jedrzejczyk looked like the most likely route. 

Jedrzejczyk was the strawweight champion, and her move up to the flyweight class was inevitable, even after the losses to Namajunas. Shevchenko, meanwhile, looks more suited to the flyweight class after unsuccessfully challenging Amanda Nunes for the bantamweight championship at UFC 215 in September 2017.

Shevchenko and Jedrzejczyk have crossed paths, and Shevchenko has won their three head-to-head muay thai meetings.

"We have our history with Joanna already in [muay thai], and now we have opportunity to start to create our history in MMA, mixed martial arts, under UFC rules. Why not?" Shevchenko said to Luke Thomas on The MMA Hour (h/t MMA Fighting's Alexander K. Lee).

Shevchenko vs. Jedrzejczyk is the seventh fight on the UFC 231 main card, and it's the only championship bout.