Nicco Montaño (born December 16, 1988) is an American

mixed martial artist Mixed martial arts (MMA) is a full-contact fighting sport based on striking and grappling; incorporating techniques from various combat sports from around the world. In the early 20th century, various inter-stylistic contests took place t ...

who last competed in the bantamweight division of the

Ultimate Fighting Championship The Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) is an American mixed martial arts (MMA) promoter (entertainment), promotion company based in Las Vegas, Nevada. It is owned and operated by TKO Group Holdings, a majority owned subsidiary of Endeavor ( ...

(UFC). She was the first UFC Women's Flyweight Champion.

Background

Montaño was born on in Lukachukai, Arizona. She is of

Navajo The Navajo or Diné are an Indigenous people of the Southwestern United States. Their traditional language is Diné bizaad, a Southern Athabascan language. The states with the largest Diné populations are Arizona (140,263) and New Mexico (1 ...

Chickasaw The Chickasaw ( ) are an Indigenous people of the Southeastern Woodlands, United States. Their traditional territory was in northern Mississippi, northwestern and northern Alabama, western Tennessee and southwestern Kentucky. Their language is ...

, and

Hispanic The term Hispanic () are people, Spanish culture, cultures, or countries related to Spain, the Spanish language, or broadly. In some contexts, Hispanic and Latino Americans, especially within the United States, "Hispanic" is used as an Ethnici ...

descent. She graduated from Chinle High School in 2006 then attended

Arizona State University Arizona State University (Arizona State or ASU) is a public university, public research university in Tempe, Arizona, United States. Founded in 1885 as Territorial Normal School by the 13th Arizona Territorial Legislature, the university is o ...

in Tempe before transferring to

Diné College Diné College is a public tribal land-grant college based in Tsaile, Arizona, serving the Navajo Nation. It offers associate degrees, bachelor's degrees, academic certificates, and one master's degree. History Diné College opened in 196 ...

in Tsaile, Arizona, and finally ending up at Fort Lewis College in

Durango, Colorado Durango is the home rule city that is the county seat and the most populous municipality of La Plata County, Colorado, United States. The city population was 19,071 at the 2020 United States census. Durango is the home of Fort Lewis College ...

. There she joined Durango Martial Arts Academy and ignited her passion for martial arts. Montaño began training in boxing at an early age. She took up Brazilian jiu-jitsu before becoming an MMA fighter in 2013.

Mixed martial arts career

After an amateur career that saw her produce a record of 5–0, Montaño made her professional mixed martial arts debut in November 2015. Competing primarily for

King of the Cage King of the Cage (KOTC) is a mixed martial arts promotion based in Southern California, United States. History KOTC was founded in 1998 by Terry Trebilcock Jr. KOTC features mostly amateur as well as up and coming MMA stars and former mainstre ...

, where she won the KOTC Women's Flyweight Championship, Montaño compiled a record of 3–2 before joining the cast of '' The Ultimate Fighter 26'' in mid 2017.

''The Ultimate Fighter''

In August 2017, it was announced that Montaño was one of the fighters selected to be on '' The Ultimate Fighter: A New World Champion''. In her first fight on the show, Montaño faced UFC veteran Lauren Murphy. She won the fight via unanimous decision after two rounds. In the quarterfinals, Montaño faced off against Montana Stewart. She won the fight via unanimous decision after two rounds. In the semifinals, Montaño faced former Invicta FC Flyweight Champion Barb Honchak. She won the fight via unanimous decision after three rounds.

Ultimate Fighting Championship

Montaño was expected to fight Sijara Eubanks for the inaugural UFC Women's Flyweight Championship at The Ultimate Fighter 26 Finale on December 1, 2017. However, Eubanks was pulled from the fight for kidney failure while trying to make weight, and was replaced by Roxanne Modafferi. Montaño won the fight via unanimous decision and claimed the inaugural UFC Women's Flyweight Championship title. This win also earned her the Fight of the Night bonus. At the post fight interview, Montaño revealed her financial struggles prior to her win and her appreciation for the prize money she was about to receive:

“We were dirt poor just before tonight in all reality. I’m going to go move to an apartment with some water pressure, and buy some good food and treats for my cats.”

Montaño was scheduled to face Valentina Shevchenko on September 8, 2018, at UFC 228. However, prior to the weigh-ins for the event, Montaño was transported to a hospital due to the effects of weight cutting and the bout was cancelled. Montaño was subsequently stripped of the UFC Women's Flyweight title. It was reported that on April 23, 2019, Montaño was suspended by USADA for 6 months for testing positive for ostarine from an out-of-competition test conducted on October 25, 2018. Suspension retroactive from November 15, 2018. She was eligible to fight again on May 15, 2019. Montaño was expected to face

Sara McMann Sara McMann (born September 24, 1980) is an American mixed martial artist currently signed to Bellator MMA, competing in the Women's Featherweight division. She is a former Olympic wrestler and received a silver medal at the 2004 Summer Olympi ...

in a bantamweight bout on July 13, 2019, at UFC Fight Night 155. However, McMann pulled out of the bout citing an injury and was replaced by Julianna Peña. She lost the fight via unanimous decision. Montaño was scheduled to face Macy Chiasson on February 15, 2020, at UFC Fight Night 167. However, Montaño was forced to pull from the event due to injury and she was replaced by

Shanna Young Shanna Marie Leonard Young (born February 20, 1991) is an American mixed martial artist who competes in the Flyweight division. She has previously competed in the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) and Professional Fighters League (PFL). Back ...

. Montaño was scheduled to face Julia Avila on August 8, 2020, at UFC Fight Night 174. However, due to Montano's coach John Wood testing positive for

COVID-19 Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is a contagious disease caused by the coronavirus SARS-CoV-2. In January 2020, the disease spread worldwide, resulting in the COVID-19 pandemic. The symptoms of COVID‑19 can vary but often include fever ...

, the bout was rescheduled to UFC Fight Night 176. However, Montaño tested positive for

and the bout was moved to UFC Fight Night: Holm vs. Aldana. Subsequently, on September 3, it was announced that Montaño withdrew from the bout due to travel restrictions. In turn Avila was rescheduled to face Sijara Eubanks at UFC Fight Night 177 on September 12. Montaño was scheduled to face Karol Rosa on February 6, 2021, at UFC Fight Night 184. However, for undisclosed reason, she was pulled from the bout and was replaced by Joselyne Edwards. Montaño was scheduled to face Wu Yanan on July 31, 2021, at UFC on ESPN 28. However, due to Montaño missing weight by seven pounds at the weigh-ins, her fight against Yanan was canceled. On August 3, 2021, Montaño was released by the UFC.

Championships and accomplishments

Mixed martial arts

** UFC Women's Flyweight Champion (One time, inaugural) ** Fight of the Night (One time) vs. Roxanne Modafferi **UFC.com Awards ***2017: Ranked #6 Newcomer of the Year

Mixed martial arts record

, - , Loss , align=center, 4–3 , Julianna Peña , Decision (unanimous) , UFC Fight Night: de Randamie vs. Ladd , , align=center, 3 , align=center, 5:00 ,

Sacramento, California Sacramento ( or ; ; ) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital city of the U.S. state of California and the county seat, seat of Sacramento County, California, Sacramento County. Located at the confluence of the Sacramento Rive ...

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Oklahoma City, Oklahoma Oklahoma City (), officially the City of Oklahoma City, and often shortened to OKC, is the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of municipalities in Oklahoma, most populous city of the U.S. state of Oklahoma. The county seat ...

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Mixed martial arts exhibition record

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References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Montaño, Nicco 1988 births Living people Native American sportspeople People from Apache County, Arizona Arizona State University alumni Fort Lewis College alumni Ultimate Fighting Championship champions American female mixed martial artists American people of Navajo descent American people of Chickasaw descent Flyweight mixed martial artists Bantamweight mixed martial artists Mixed martial artists utilizing boxing Mixed martial artists utilizing Brazilian jiu-jitsu Mixed martial artists from Arizona Doping cases in mixed martial arts Ultimate Fighting Championship female fighters American female Brazilian jiu-jitsu practitioners 21st-century American women 21st-century Native American women 21st-century Native American people