Shevchenko out of UFC 251 title defense due to injury

UFC women's flyweight champion Valentina Shevchenko is out of her title defense against Joanne Calderwood at UFC 251 in June due to a leg injury, she told ESPN's Marc Raimondi.

The promotion is planning to reschedule the fight, but nothing has been finalized as of now, according to MMA Junkie's Danny Segura. Calderwood told MMA Fighting's Peter Carroll she'd heard the bout would be "pushed back."

Shevchenko said she injured her leg against Katlyn Chookagian at UFC 247 in February and it didn't fully heal. She said she expects to be ready to fight by August.

UFC 251 is scheduled for June 6 in Perth, Australia.

"Bullet," who has defended the 125-pound title three times since winning it in late 2018, stopped Chookagian via third-round TKO. Shevchenko has won five straight fights.

Calderwood is coming off a decision win over Andrea Lee last September. She's 3-1 in her past four outings.