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Nicco Montano Claims UFC Asked Her To Wear Native Costume For Promotion

UFC women’s flyweight champion Nicco Montano is used to playing the underdog role. Heading into her title bout versus Valentina Shevchenko at this weekend’s UFC 228 from Dallas, Texas, it’s a role she finds herself in yet again. Montano is a massive underdog to former bantamweight title contender Shevchenko, with the betting odds rating her […]

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UFC women’s flyweight champion Nicco Montano is used to playing the underdog role.

Heading into her title bout versus Valentina Shevchenko at this weekend’s UFC 228 from Dallas, Texas, it’s a role she finds herself in yet again. Montano is a massive underdog to former bantamweight title contender Shevchenko, with the betting odds rating her as one of if not the biggest underdogs ever for a defending UFC champion.

It’s a role she relishes, and one that she’s overcome to make her people proud. Montano is 25 percent Chickasaw, 25 percent Navajo and half Hispanic, yet identifies herself as Native (not Native American, which she considers a government-created label). The underdog role is one her people are unfortunately all too familiar with.

That’s perhaps part of the reason why her Native people were so proud she won the women’s 125-pound title by defeating Roxanne Modafferi at last December’s The Ultimate Fighter (TUF) 26 Finale. She told Bleacher Report’s Scott Harris that a parade awaited her with throngs of adoring fans when she returned home to her home city of Albuquerque, New Mexico:

“When I got the championship belt, the next day I came home, and there was just this mega parade,” Montano said. “And there were people hugging me and crying in my ear, and I’m like ‘You were my teacher! You know me!’

“There were so many people from so many different reservations. There were people who came all the way from Canada. And they were, like, jumping on me. When you’re indigenous you call somebody your brother or sister, like ‘Hey, brother’ or ‘Hey, sister.’ Now I had so many brothers and so many sisters.”

Montano believes her victory motivated her people to believe in themselves during a time when their honored history is slowly disappearing:

“I think that made them think ‘We can do this,’” she said. “There are traditional people who still live traditionally, live off the land, live in harmony with the land, who don’t have a job, who still barter and live off of handshakes and word of mouth. The Navajo language might be gone in 20 years. Soon it will be gone. … So when I did that, it really motivated them.”

But while that time period was motivation for those of her heritage, it wasn’t all roses. Montano said that many still believe in the stereotypes dealt to her people, something she said is baffling considering we are in 2018:

“They think we live in buckskin and teepees,” she said. “It’s 2018 and there are still people who ask that question.”

That sentiment apparently carried over into her employers at the UFC, whom she said wanted her to wear a Native costume with actual war paint on:

“They literally wanted me to put on a costume,” Montano said. “They literally wanted to see me coming out with war paint on my face. They think ‘Native’ and they think these things. I don’t want to be the token Native. I don’t want to be blasted on posters with a headdress on and with buckskin and a loin cloth.”

It’s not hard to see why Montano was resistant to such an antiquated request. Harris revealed the UFC did not respond to requests for comment on this issue, but an uproar would have certainly ensued if Montano had agreed.

To her, wearing such a costume would not have represented where she came from correctly, and understandably so. Instead, she wants to share the true history of her culture and values so the outside world can truly see where she came from:

“I do care,” she said. “Because I do want to get my word out. I want to be able to share my values and to have people see where I’m coming from.”

So while she won’t be wearing any stereotypical Native costume to promote her fights, she will be fighting for her Native culture on Saturday night. Montano closed by asserting her goal of being a shining voice for her people:

“When I got the belt, I wanted to be shining a light on my native culture,” she said. “Like, this is truly my motivation and truly where my mind is. When I fight, it’s so I can have a voice for them.”

Montano will battle Shevchenko in the co-main event of UFC 228, and based on what we’ve heard from her here, she’s fighting for a lot more than just the belt.

As always – and just like her people – she’ll be the underdog, and she’s just fine with that.

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Quote: I’m ‘110 Percent Sure’ Darren Till Makes Weight

One of the biggest stories prior to this weekend’s (Sat., September 8, 2018) UFC 228 from the American Airlines Center in Dallas, Texas, is whether or not Darren Till makes weight. The top welterweight contender missed weight by a wide margin prior to his UFC Liverpool main event against Stephen “Wonderboy” Thompson this May. The miss […]

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One of the biggest stories prior to this weekend’s (Sat., September 8, 2018) UFC 228 from the American Airlines Center in Dallas, Texas, is whether or not Darren Till makes weight.

The top welterweight contender missed weight by a wide margin prior to his UFC Liverpool main event against Stephen “Wonderboy” Thompson this May. The miss became a well-documented cautionary tale for weight cutting in MMA. A video surfaced of Till’s harrowing and ultimately missed cut where he claimed to have lost his eyesight at one point.

Till is sick of talking about it and claims he’s not far off making weight at all. That sentiment was echoed by his nutritionist Eoghan Gallagher in an interview with MMA Fighting at the fighter hotel. Gallagher claimed he was “110 percent sure” Till would make weight as he expressed extreme optimism where his fighter was at:

“We’re super happy with where he’s at. We were working with a more limited time frame that expected. Darren had some visa issues getting into the U.S. We wanted to get out here to do four weeks, but we only got two-and-a-half basically. So under the circumstances we’re doing amazing. The last part of the cut is always going to suck. He said it himself earlier, fighters who say they’ve had a great cut, it’s a cover up.”

Gallagher then described his strategy of avoiding the last-minute drain to make weight that fighters often engage in. To him, that’s not the right way to do things. He believes in getting the hardest part of the cut done long before the final three days:

“This culture of guys a week out, two weeks out with the sauna suits on already, hitting pads and things like that…that makes the hair stand up on the back of my neck,” Gallagher said. “That’s something we want to move away from it. The larger part of our cuts are done within 72 hours, so that we have the body under strenuous conditions for the least amount of time possible. So, just minor changes were made this camp.”

Till’s nutritionist then detailed Till’s oft-discussed move up to middleweight. Gallagher believes all the talk is a bit overstated, but he does think Till should move up to middleweight sooner than later nonetheless. The reasoning for that perceived move wasn’t related to weight cutting, however.

In his mind, 185 pounds is a division that needs a new star – and the 25-year-old Liverpudlian would provide just that:

“The issues that I observed as an outsider, and just from speaking to his team and speaking to him personally, I think the ‘he should not fight at 170’ talks are extremely blown out of proportion,” Gallagher said. “I think that realistically he can make welterweight for years to come, but just from speaking to him — and this is a trend I hope continues in this sport — it seems like he wants to go to 185 sooner rather than later.

“Just for two reasons, the significantly less strain he’d have to put himself through. And — this isn’t his thought, but in my opinion — middleweight is in more need of a star than 170 is. Welterweight is super-exciting right now, while middleweight is one of the better divisions with a lot of the fighters in the later stages of their career. Darren is 25 years old. He’s someone who could be around for a significant amount of time.”

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Mike Perry Unveils Results Of Sparring Session With Donald Cerrone

Mike Perry detailed his recent sparring session with Donald Cerrone.

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UFC veteran Donald Cerrone has had a highly publicized spat with his longtime team at JacksonWink MMA this week. Adding fuel to that fire, it’s time Cerrone’s upcoming opponent Mike Perry unveils the results of a sparring session he had with ‘Cowboy.’

Cerrone took JacksonWink to task this week for supposedly failing to provide enough attention to their top-level fighters. JacksonWink coach Mike Winkeljohn was quick to respond and call Cerrone ‘narcissistic.’ Coach Wink obviously sided with Perry in the ordeal. Former UFC women’s bantamweight champion Miesha Tate was none too pleased with that stance.

It’s an ongoing saga. Perry recently revealed the results of his sparring session with Cerrone during an interview with MMAjunkie Radio. “Platinum” said Cerrone was quite easy to hit, but he didn’t want to go full-on with “Cowboy”:

“So I go to the BMF ranch – this would be the second time we sparred. We didn’t even spar, because he’s so easy for me to punch in the face that I didn’t punch him in the face like that. I was throwing jabs, and I was able to just touch him with the end of my glove, and I was like, man, I’m not going to open up on him here in his house on his ranch with all his people around.”

Grappling Was Another Story

Perry then revealed that he still wanted to get a high-level training session in, so he reverted to grappling. He admitted that Cerrone avoided his takedowns and controlled him on the ground for a significant amount of time:

“But I want to get this work, I want to get this aggressive energy out of me. So I started shooting takedowns, and I’m not that good at wrestling; just defensive wrestling moreso. And we went for 23 minutes straight. There wasn’t a lot of punches involved. I started shooting in takedowns to get that energy going and get that sweat and actually try hard.

“So I start shooting takedowns, and he kind of reversed me. I got up once or twice, and then the last 10 minutes of that round, he was on top of me. I was trying to pull some sweeps, or subs, but he’s a slick grappler, too, I wasn’t able to get him off of me the last 10 minutes.

“He’s laying on me at 23 minutes, and he kind of looks at me, and I just tapped him on the shoulder, like, ‘Alright, (expletive), get off of me.’”

Perry made it plain to see that Cerrone seemingly controlled him during their grappling exchanges. He does appear to insist he got the better of the striking, however.

Cerrone and Perry will square off in the co-main event of November 10’s UFC Fight Night 139 from Denver, Colorado.

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Welterweight Champ Tyron Woodley Flaunts Advantages Over Darren Till

Tyron Woodley listed his perceived advantages over Darren Till.

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UFC welterweight champ Tyron Woodley just detailed several advantages heading into his UFC 228 title fight against Darren Till.

Don’t tell the current longest-reigning UFC champion that he is old. He believes that is just in poor taste.  But that’s exactly what one reporter started to do at a media luncheon earlier this week. However, Woodley was able to stop the reported dead in his tracts when he jokingly said don’t go there.

Woodley then proceeded to ask himself some questions to get the ball rolling.

“Who’s the fastest welterweight in the division? Who’s the most powerful welterweight in the division, and who’s the most experienced welterweight in the division?” Woodley said. “So what advantages do you have, because you’re 24 years old, that I don’t have?”

The fast-rising Brit is actually 25 years old, but Woodley’s point remains the same.

He’s dealt with these types of challenges before. After all, when “The Chosen One” first battled Stephen Thompson at UFC 205 “Wonderboy” was thought to be the next big thing much like Till.

“It’s not the first young, undefeated fighter that I’ve fought. Kelvin Gastelum was that guy, too, right?” Woodley said of the build-up to his 2015 bout with “The Ultimate Fighter” winner. “He had what it took: ‘Oh, he’s young, he can wrestle, blah blah blah.’ So I’m right back in the same position. It’s so funny that I consistently end up in this same position, that the people that I’m facing are the ones that they’re looking so far ahead.”

“So, once again, I’ll be the spoiler. I’ll mess up the plans, and I’ll continue to be the world champion.”

Despite some mild trash talking from both guys leading up to next weekends UFC 228 main event, Woodley respects Till’s game. Specifically the Brit’s unflappable belief in his own skills and talents. But “The Chosen One” does see some glaring differences between Till and himself.

The Differences

“I feel like I’ve got to make my game plan of what I’m doing based upon an intelligent fighter breaking me down and seeing his weaknesses and seeing what he can exploit on me,” Woodley said. “The only difference is you’ve seen me wrestle in matches, you’ve seen me strike in matches, you’ve seen me grapple in matches, you’ve seen me brawl in matches, you’ve seen me have to put on the thinking cap and have a chess match. He has one style of fighting. He has one way to win this fight. And if you add in his youth and his hunger and his confidence, he’s a very difficult matchup. But I think I have so many different ways to win this fight.”

“Confidence ain’t enough. Being tough ain’t enough. I want it just as much as he wants it. I don’t want to be a challenger again. You know, life as a champion and life as a challenger are two separate things. I want to continue to have a platform to use to inspire and motivate to do positive things with. I want to consistently be able to provide a lifestyle for my family, so they have opportunities that I didn’t have as a kid. And he wants to take that away from me. So now it’s on.”

Public perception has been such that Woodley appears to be doing too much. There is, of course, his rap album and the frequent appearances on TMZ. Those cant possibly help Woodley’s image. But the champ is quick to point out, that’s not reality, that just public perception.

Public Perception

“I think the narrative has been portrayed as Tyron is so focused on entertainment, music, Hollywood, the ESPYs, he’s partying, he’s doing this stuff, he’s got all this new drip, and this young kid is so hungry, and he ain’t seen this kid in a year, and he don’t care, and he want the title so bad, duh duh. I’m gonna let that become the narrative,” Woodley said.”

“Meanwhile I’m training like a madman, and meanwhile he’s gonna get his *** whooped.”

Watch Tyron Woodley’s media day luncheon here (courtesy of MMA Junkie):

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Coach: Khabib Nurmagomedov Is “Never Going To Lose”

Khabib Nurmagomedov is never going to lose according to a decorated MMA coach. The undefeated UFC lightweight champion is set to meet Conor McGregor in the main event of October 6’s UFC 229. It could end up as the biggest pay-per-view event in UFC history. That result may not be due to the amount of […]

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Khabib Nurmagomedov is never going to lose according to a decorated MMA coach.

The undefeated UFC lightweight champion is set to meet Conor McGregor in the main event of October 6’s UFC 229. It could end up as the biggest pay-per-view event in UFC history.

That result may not be due to the amount of pre-fight hype, however. There’s actually been precious little in the way of prominent promotion only a month out. Nurmagomedov and McGregor’s pre-installed beef may be what promotes the fight due to its heated backstory. McGregor infamously stormed the Barclays Center in Brooklyn, NY, earlier this year days before Nurmagomedov won the lightweight title at UFC 223.

The Stage Is Set

‘The Notorious’ has cleared up his legal issues. The undefeated Russian champ remains his focus now, and we haven’t seen much from the former champ. We have seen a decent amount from Nurmagomedov’s head coach Javier Mendez. AKA front man Mendez recently admitted there was no way “The Eagle” could hang with McGregor’s striking.

That doesn’t mean he thinks his star fighter will lose. Mendez recently offered the view that Nurmagomedov will never be defeated on MMA Fighting’s Eurobash podcast. The champion will find a way to win no matter due to his mental toughness:

“I’m of the belief that Khabib’s mental strength is so strong that I personally feel that he’s never going to lose. I really don’t — I don’t think he’s ever going to lose. He’s going to find whatever he needs to do to win, whether he does it my way or does it his way, he’s going to find a way to win and that’s just what he does.”

A Focused Gameplan

Mendez then opened up on their gameplan for McGregor. The longtime head coach said he and Khabib are putting together a solid plan with intense, isolated focus:

“Basically it’s just me and him, myself and Khabib. We go through the gameplan and I structure it. I’ve mostly been the one that structures all of the gameplans, except for with Daniel [Cormier], it’s myself and Bob Cook. I’ve been doing all the gameplans, the other coaches do a fantastic job and they fall into place where they’re needed, but the gameplan is usually always me.”

AKA’s famed owner then dove into the mental aspects of a fight this huge. He isn’t worried about Nurmagomedov getting flustered. McGregor may be a master at mental warfare, yet Mendez insists he’ll find his equal in the champ:

“I’m not going to have to worry about keeping [Nurmagomedov] in check. He is so mentally strong that it’s not going to be an issue at all. Like I said, Conor is going to press his buttons, but it doesn’t matter. I believe Khabib is going to stay cool throughout the whole thing,” Mendez said.

“He’s going to dish it out as good as he gets it, and trust me, Conor’s going to give it to him because Conor is a master at playing the game. He’s going to find an equal mental sparring partner as well as physical. This fight is going to be mental and physical, outside the fight and inside the fight, they’re both going to fight for the advantages.”

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Miesha Tate Goes Off On Donald Cerrone vs. JacksonWink

Miesha Tate sounded off on the Donald Cerrone/JacksonWink drama.

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This week, the MMA world was beset by a surprising drama between UFC vet Donald Cerrone and his longtime gym JacksonWink MMA. Now it’s time Miesha Tate goes off on the bitter feud.

The drama fixated on a disagreement centered on the direction of the gym. Cerrone said he wanted the Albuquerque, NM-based MMA mecca to remain true to helping top fighters. He thinks the team’s decreased win percentage is a testament to how they’ve fallen.

But JacksonWink co-owner Mike Winkeljohn soon responded. His stance focused on his idea that ‘Cowboy’ is only about himself and could not be more narcissistic. It’s created a heated debate in MMA circles due to the personal nature of the conflict.

A Top Name Supports Cerrone

Some have sided with ‘Cowboy,’ others with one of the sport’s top gyms. A prominent name who sided with the former is former UFC women’s bantamweight champion Miesha Tate. Tate opened up on the situation on Sirius XM Fight Nation’s MMA Tonight (via MMA Fighting), noting that JacksonWink has been in this precarious spot before:

“This is reminiscent,” Tate said. “I feel like we’ve heard this story about this camp before when it was Rashad Evans and him feeling like he was pushed out of the spot with Jon Jones coming in.

“What I think is not cool, if it had been someone that had been training there like Carlos Condit or someone like that who had been training there a long time and they were gonna fight each other and both had that mutual respect, and mutual foundation at that gym, that’s different. But when the new guy is coming in and he’s like, ‘I wanna fight Cowboy’ and he comes to Cowboy’s gym, I think that the right thing to do by the gym – I think there’s some loyalty that should be towards Cowboy. He’s been there a really, really long time.”

Loyalty In Question

Much of the beef between Cerrone and JacksonWink centers around ‘Cowboy’s’ upcoming UFC Denver opponent Mike Perry. “Platinum” was fixated on fighting Cerrone as he began training at JacksonWink. Cerrone wasn’t happy about that.

Tate believes the gym should have been more loyal to their longtime flagship member. She suggested they should not have accepted Perry into their fold right before he fought Cerrone:

“‘This is probably not the camp for you to come in, Mike, because you’re fighting our boy. Cowboy has been with us forever. We’d love for you to come in for the next camp but Cowboy’s our dude,’” Tate said. “That’s how I think. Even though I know Cowboy doesn’t drive there every single day, he doesn’t train at the gym – there are some other reasons I think behind that, I think – that’s just me. That’s how I hope my gym would operate if I was under those circumstances.”

The drama has boiled over into many different perspectives. Longtime JacksonWink MMA fighter Diego Sanchez supported the gym. Perry promised he would send Cerrone to a ‘beautiful death’ when they fought.

The discord is quickly becoming personal as it takes over MMA headlines for this week. Where do you stand with this heated faceoff?

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