Joanna Jedrzejczyk vs. Valentina Shevchenko flyweight title fight set for UFC 231 in Toronto

A new UFC women’s flyweight champion will be crowned in December.

Former strawweight champion Joanna Jedrzejczyk and ex-women’s bantamweight title challenger Valentina Shevchenko will square off at UFC 231 for the vacant 125-pound title, UFC president Dana White confirmed Thursday night on TSN’s SportsCentre.

Jedrzejczyk is coming off a unanimous decision win over Tecia Torres at UFC on FOX 30 in July. Prior to that, she suffered consecutive losses to current 115-pound titleholder Rose Namajunas, including a first-round knockout in which she lost the belt she had held since 2015. Jedrzejczyk hasn’t fought at 125 pounds since 2014, before her time in the UFC.

Shevchenko last defeated Priscila Cachoeira in a one-sided affair, stopping the Brazilian by submission. That was her debut in the flyweight division, dropping down from bantamweight, where she fought Amanda Nunes for the title last year — and lost by a narrow split decision. Shevchenko was expected to face inaugural flyweight champ Nicco Montano at UFC 228 earlier this month, but Montano was forced off the card due to weight-cutting issues and subsequently stripped of the title.

Well before either fighter fought in the UFC, Jedrzejczyk and Shevchenko competed against each other in Muay Thai three times. Shevchenko won all three bouts.

Jedrzejczyk vs. Shevchenko will likely serve as the UFC 231 co-main event.

UFC 231 takes place Dec. 8 at Scotiabank Arena in Toronto. A featherweight title fight between champ Max Holloway and Brian Ortega is targeted as the card’s headliner.