Sports blog information from USA TODAY.
Take a look at the history of females who have claimed UFC gold.
From the first-ever UFC women’s champion, Ronda Rousey, to the current crop of titleholders, here’s a look at the females who have captured UFC gold since women first step foot in the octagon in 2013.
Nicco Montano has broken her silence after she was released from the UFC earlier this week.
[autotag]Nicco Montano[/autotag] has broken her silence after getting released from the UFC earlier this week.
Montano (4-3 MMA, 1-1 UFC) was cut from the promotion after missing the bantamweight limit by seven pounds for last Saturday’s UFC on ESPN 28 bout against Wu Yanan, resulting in the fight getting scrapped.
That marked the third time Montano had missed weight, prompting the UFC to release her. The 32-year-old former women’s flyweight champion hasn’t competed since dropping a unanimous decision to current title challenger Julianna Pena in July 2019.
On Thursday night, Montano took to Instagram to react to the news of her release.
“Down but never out… Seems to be the story of my career but for better or for worse I’m in the thicc [sic] of it and MMA is how I started my personal growth and I will never give up on me,” she wrote. “It has brought me the highest of highs and lowest of lows and if it ain’t that, am I really living..?”
Montano is no stranger to adversity. She entered Season 26 of “The Ultimate Fighter” as a relatively unknown flyweight and managed to make a statement right off the bat by upsetting Lauren Murphy. She went on to defeat Montana De La Rosa and Barb Honchak, en route to a finals showdown with veteran Roxanne Modafferi. Montano defeated Modafferi to win the show, becoming the inaugural UFC women’s 125-pound champion in 2017.
But after her Cinderella story on TUF, things went downhill for Montano. She was scheduled to defend her title against Valentina Shevchenko at UFC 228 but was transported to the hospital prior to the weigh-ins after struggling with her cut. She was subsequently stripped of her title. Montano then tested positive for ostarine and was suspended six months by the U.S. Anti-Doping Agency retroactive to October 2018.
An array of injuries, COVID-related withdrawals and weight misses would paint the picture of the rest of Montano’s UFC journey, where she only competed once since winning TUF in December 2017. But the UFC’s first Navajo champion won’t be deterred, showing no signs of giving up despite her turbulent octagon career.
“Rolling with the punches,” she wrote.
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Nicco Montano is no longer with the UFC after her latest fight cancellation.
[autotag]Nicco Montano[/autotag] is no longer a UFC fighter.
The former women’s flyweight champion was released by the organization following this past weekend’s weight miss for her bantamweight bout at UFC on ESPN 28. MMA Junkie confirmed the news Tuesday night following a report by MMA Fighting.
Montano (4-3 MMA, 1-1 UFC) came in seven pounds over the 136-pound limit for her fight against Wu Yanan. The massive weight miss led to the cancelation of the fight and criticism from UFC president Dana White earlier Tuesday.
“This might not be the sport for her,” White said.
Montano, 32, won the inaugural UFC women’s 125-pound title in late 2017 after advancing to the final of Season 26 of “The Ultimate Fighter” by outpointing Lauren Murphy, Montana De La Rosa and Barb Honchak. Montano officially made her UFC debut at the TUF 26 Finale, defeating Roxanne Modafferi to win “TUF 26” and become UFC champion.
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Montano went on to compete only once more for the UFC in a 2019 decision loss to Julianna Pena at bantamweight.
Eight of Montano’s 10 scheduled matchups with the promotion were canceled or postponed. Six of those changes were due to a withdrawal on her side, with three attributed to weight cutting.
Montano has missed weight both at flyweight and bantamweight. She also tested positive for ostarine and was suspended six months by USADA retroactive to October 2018. Her other UFC withdrawals were due to a positive COVID-19 test by one of her coaches and an injury suffered during training camp for a fight against Macy Chiasson.
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Since winning the UFC title, Nicco Montano has struggled to make it to fight night, especially due to weight cutting.
[autotag]Nicco Montano[/autotag] has struggled to make it to the UFC cage in recent years, which has her boss, Dana White, unsure about her future.
The first women’s flyweight champion in promotion history, Montano (4-3 MMA, 1-1 UFC) has competed only once since she won the title in December 2017, and it was a loss to Juliana Pena.
On Tuesday, White addressed Montano’s latest weight miss this past weekend at UFC on ESPN 28 for the first time and questioned the former champ’s future in mixed martial arts.
“I don’t know off the top of my head, but over three or four of her fights have been canceled,” White said. “I think no matter what weight class you put her at, she seems to have a hard time making weight. This might not be the sport for her.”
Dana White reacts to Nicco Montaño coming seven pounds overweight in her scrapped bout against Wu Yanan and her future.
Full interview for @UFCarabia coming soon. pic.twitter.com/RRCKHo1dfh
— Farah Hannoun (@Farah_Hannoun) August 3, 2021
Eight of Montano’s 10 scheduled matchups with the promotion have been canceled or postponed. Six of those changes have been due to a withdrawal on her side, with three attributed to weight cutting, including last Friday’s miss by seven pounds for her bantamweight bout.
Montano, 32, has missed weight both at flyweight and bantamweight. She also tested positive for ostarine and was suspended six months by USADA retroactive to October 2018. Her other UFC withdrawals were due to a positive COVID-19 test by one of her coaches and an injury suffered during training camp for a fight against Macy Chiasson.
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Nicco Montano vs. Wu Yanan was one of two fights canceled on weigh-ins day for UFC on ESPN 28.
Former women’s flyweight champion [autotag]Nicco Montano[/autotag]’s career struggles continued at the UFC on ESPN 28 official weigh-ins Friday morning.
Montano, set to make her second UFC appearance at bantamweight, weighed in seven pounds over the 136-pound limit at 143. While she stood on the scale, Montano looked physically out of sorts.
Because of the massive miss, Montano’s fight with Wu Yanan was canceled. Montano hasn’t competed since July 13, 2019 when she lost a unanimous decision to Julianna Pena in her return to bantamweight.
Montano (4-3 MMA, 1-1 UFC) has a history of fight cancellations. After becoming the UFC’s inaugural women’s 125-pound champ through Season 26 of “The Ultimate Fighter,” Montano never got to defend her title. She was stripped of the belt after she was hospitalized because of a bad weight cut heading into a scheduled UFC 228 bout with Valentina Shevchenko. Montano recently teased a trailer on a film documenting her experience before UFC 228.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1jHi7QbiJu8
UFC on ESPN 28 marked the fourth fight cancellation since the loss to Pena in July 2019. The reasons for the other three cancellations were injury, COVID-19 and undisclosed.
Montano vs. Yanan wasn’t the only fight removed from UFC on ESPN 28. The bantamweight bout between Trevin Jones and [autotag]Ronnie Lawrence[/autotag] also was canceled after Lawrence was unable to weigh in due to health concerns.
With the cancellations, the UFC on ESPN 28 lineup now includes:
MAIN CARD (ESPN/ESPN+, 9 p.m. ET)
PRELIMINARY CARD (ESPN/ESPN+)
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Joselyne Edwards will look for two wins in quick succession to start her UFC career, as she replaces Nicco Montano on short notice.
[autotag]Nicco Montano[/autotag] won’t compete in the cage on the next UFC event.
Montano, a former UFC women’s flyweight champion, has withdrawn from her Feb. 6 bout against [autotag]Karol Rosa[/autotag] at UFC Fight Night 184. Montano, who pulled out for undisclosed undisclosed reasons, has been replaced by [autotag]Joselyne Edwards[/autotag].
MMA Junkie confirmed the news Tuesday following an initial report by Milenio.
Edwards (10-2 MMA, 1-0 UFC) made her debut 11 days ago on Jan. 16, stepping up on short notice to take on Wu Yanan in a bantamweight contest. Edwards won the fight via unanimous decision, making her the first fighter from Panama to earn a victory in the UFC.
Meanwhile, Brazil’s Rosa (13-3 MMA, 2-0 UFC) last fought in August 2020, outpointing Vanessa Melo at UFC 251. The 26-year-old is on a four-fight winning streak.
With the change, the UFC Fight Night 184 lineup includes:
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A bantamweight matchup between Nicco Montano and Julia Avila is the latest addition to the UFC’s Aug. 8 event.
A women’s bantamweight matchup is the latest addition to the UFC’s Aug. 8 event.
Former flyweight champion [autotag]Nicco Montano[/autotag] will face [autotag]Julia Avila[/autotag] in a rematch of their 2017 fight, where Avila picked up a unanimous decision win to capture the HD MMA women’s bantamweight title.
Avila announced the booking on Instagram after an initial report from MMA Fighting that the fight was in the works. The UFC’s Aug. 8 event does not yet have an official name designation or location.
Montano (4-3 MMA, 1-1 UFC), who won the inaugural 125-pound title as part of Season 26 of “The Ultimate Fighter,” was stripped of the title before ever defending it as she dealt with injury. She has split her first two UFC appearances. Montano returned to bantamweight last July but suffered a unanimous decision loss to Julianna Pena.
Avila (8-1 MMA, 2-0 UFC) made good in her first two UFC bouts and is coming off a 22-second finish over Gina Mazany last weekend at UFC on ESPN 10.
With the addition, the latest lineup for the UFC’s Aug. 8 event includes:
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Check out the best highlights from this day in history with MMA Junkie’s “Combat Rewind.”
There’s “Flashback Friday” and “Throwback Thursday” (and Tuesday, too, if you want). But at MMA Junkie, we figured why not expand that to every day?
“Combat Rewind” brings you some of combat sports’ best highlights from every calendar day of the year. It’s a look back at history, courtesy of the UFC Fight Pass archives, featuring stellar finishes and classic moments in MMA and beyond on their anniversaries.
So kick back and relive the following bits of greatness in the video above:
TKO 48: [autotag]Cyril Gane[/autotag] vs. [autotag]Roggers Souza[/autotag] – May 24, 2019
King of the Cage – Future Legends 23: [autotag]Nicco Montano[/autotag] vs. [autotag]Leann Acosta[/autotag] – May 24, 2014
Cage Warriors Fight Night 6: [autotag]Jarrah Hussein[/autotag] vs. [autotag]Houthaifa Gdouda[/autotag] – May 24, 2012
K-1 Braves ’98: [autotag]Ernesto Hoost[/autotag] vs. [autotag]Jean Riviere[/autotag] – May 24, 1998
King of the Cage – Future Legends 23: [autotag]Brent James[/autotag] vs. [autotag]Victor Orquiz[/autotag] – May 24, 2014
TKO 48: [autotag]Taylor Lapilus[/autotag] vs. [autotag]Nathan Maness[/autotag] – May 24, 2019
King of the Cage – Future Legends 23: [autotag]Carlo Rodriguez[/autotag] vs. [autotag]Mike Silva[/autotag] – May 24, 2014
HOOKnSHOOT – Absolute Fighting Championships 3: [autotag]Jorge Masvidal[/autotag] vs. [autotag]Brandon Bledsoe[/autotag] – May 24, 2003
Fight footage courtesy of UFC Fight Pass, the UFC’s official digital subscription service, which is currently offering a seven-day free trial. UFC Fight Pass gives fans access to exclusive live UFC events and fights, exclusive live MMA and combat sports events from around the world, exclusive original and behind the scenes content and unprecedented 24-7 access to the world’s biggest fight library.
“Combat Rewind” brings you some of combat sports’ best highlights from every calendar day of the year, courtesy of the UFC Fight Pass archives.
“Combat Rewind” brings you some of combat sports’ best highlights from every calendar day of the year, courtesy of the UFC Fight Pass archives.
A definitive ranking of the UFC women’s champions since 2012.
