Hailing from Matamata, but based in Florida where she trains at the famed American Top Team (ATT) gym, Montague will drop down a division after fighting most recently at featherweight in a move similar to that made by ATT teammate and now UFC bantamweight champion Kayla Harrison.
Montague has had a nomadic journey in MMA, primarily training with Core MMA in Hamilton but having spent time at City Kickboxing (CKB) in Auckland as well, before settling at ATT after having issues getting back into New Zealand after competing at an amateur event in Russia during the Covid-19 pandemic.
While Montague, a former Waikato rugby representative, is no longer based on home soil, Core MMA head coach Carlo Meister remains a constant presence in her corner on fight nights.
Speaking to the Herald, Meister said Montague training alongside Harrison, an Olympic gold medal-winning judoka who has successfully competed in MMA at lightweight and bantamweight, had been great for her development in the MMA space.
AdvertisementAdvertise with NZME.
“I think one of the benefits for Michelle at this stage of her career has been having someone like Kayla to emulate, and just see how easily possible some of that stuff could be for her,” he said.
“Now it’s her turn to have a crack and see what we can do with it.”
Carlo Meister, Kayla Hracho, Michelle Montague and Kayla Harrison celebrate after one of Montague’s wins. Photo / Getty Images
The former Commonwealth Games wrestler joins the UFC after amassing a 6-0 professional MMA record fighting at lightweight and featherweight, and was crowned amateur lightweight world champion in 2019.
All six of her professional wins have come by submission, and she has fought primarily with the Professional Fighter’s League (PFL) throughout her career to date.
Meister said signing with the UFC had been a work in progress for a little while, but they initially targeted a spot on the Contender Series – a show where UFC hopefuls compete for a chance to earn a contract.
“That was the plan for this year anyway, but it seems to just fast-track that. She’s kind of proved that she can hang with the women’s pro scene, and I guess the question is how much depth is there in the UFC divisions, really,” Meister said.
“It’s a tricky one because in PFL she’s had maybe two fights that have really pushed her a little bit at the pro scene. The rest have actually been comparable to what she’s already achieved on the amateur scene. So, what we want to know, and what we’ve kind of been waiting for was, we know that we can hang at this kind of entry level for the UFC, but how good are the ones that are, you know, up the tier at the title? What’s the difference?”
The move to the UFC comes a few months after she confirmed her status as a free agent on social media, indicating her desire to drop down to fight at bantamweight.
“Michelle’s been around a long time and has been well known enough now in the NZ scene that people were expecting that this day should arrive eventually, especially when she didn’t re-sign with the PFL.
“It makes it more real for everyone, including me, when that officially gets released and you get all the messages through and everything else.”
AdvertisementAdvertise with NZME.
She’s the second athlete from the Core MMA stable to make it to the UFC, following welterweight Luke Jumeau, who fought to a 2-2 record with the promotion between 2017-19.
“We’re pretty proud obviously to have done that the first time with Luke, that alone was incredible, and to be able to do it a second time is awesome. It just reinforces that it wasn’t a fluke, that we’ve got a pathway. New Zealand has a pathway and it doesn’t need to be a CKB-specific pathway.
“There’s a lot of good stuff from the amateur level right up here that stands on its own so hopefully we just get to see that pay off and see Michelle get through a few fights in the UFC and go from there.”
Christopher Reive joined the Herald sports team in 2017, bringing the same versatility to his coverage as he does to his sports viewing habits.