Photography: Stephen Barker.
From the moment Michelle “The Wild One” Montague stepped into a mixed martial arts cage, she knew she had found her calling.
Now, after making history as the first New Zealand woman to be signed by the UFC, Michelle is living the dream she once only dared imagine.
And standing on the sport’s biggest stage has given the undefeated fighter a fresh perspective. While a championship belt remains firmly in her sights, Michelle says the legacy she leaves behind matters even more.
“It’s cool to have that history, but now I have to do something with it,” she says.
“You want to make a good lasting impression and have that historic title be something to be proud of for you and your country.”
While being first is an honour. What excites Michelle most is knowing that she has opened the door for the next generation of Kiwi girls.
“When I saw [pro Kiwi fighters] Genah Fabian and Nyrene Crowley, I was like, ‘These girls are doing it, it’s actually possible.’ Being someone who can help one of the younger girls see that pathway makes me super-excited.”
A new fighting passion
Growing up in Matamata, the 32-year-old says she has always been an adrenaline junkie. She spent her childhood racing around BMX tracks, and her teens on the rugby pitch driven by her relentless determination to become a Black Fern.
But in 2015, everything changed when she stumbled across a video of UFC superstar Ronda Rousey.
“I didn’t know what MMA was, I didn’t know who Ronda Rousey was, but she was just tossing this girl and making her tap out to submission, and the crowd was roaring,” she tells.
“I was like, ‘I’m sold.’”
She found Core MMA in nearby Hamilton and was hooked after her first session. Head coach Carlo Meister still works with her.
Fighting for two dreams
Only six weeks after that session, Michelle had her first fight, which further confirmed this was the path for her.
“I thought it was the coolest thing ever,” she tells.
“I was nervous, but I had the most fun. I was blown away by the whole process.”
Any spare moment outside rugby practice and work in her family business was dedicated to MMA, jiu jitsu or wrestling.
Over the following years, as her passion for MMA grew, she wasn’t ready to give up on her dream of wearing the black jersey. But it became increasingly difficult to balance two sports that required very different things from her body.
Eventually the decision was made for her. During one of the first rugby games of a new season, the Black Ferns coach was watching from the sideline. Just five minutes into the match, Michelle suffered a devastating leg break.
Turning heartbreak into motivation
Michelle admits she went to a very dark place as she accepted it was time to let go of her rugby hopes.
“That was heartbreaking to come back from that,” she reflects.
“After that, I knew I couldn’t have a foot in each realm. It was hard to hurt myself in one sport and miss out on the other. At that point, I was like, ‘I just have to focus on MMA.’”
Once she made up her mind, Michelle was an unstoppable force. She qualified to compete in wrestling at the 2018 Commonwealth Games, but had to pull out due to another broken leg. The following year, she was crowned the amateur mixed martial arts world champion. In 2020, she won the best female athlete and best performance categories at the International Mixed Martial Arts Federation awards. In 2022, she made her pro debut with the Professional Fighters League, and last year she had her history-making fight for the UFC in Perth.
Fighting for the people she loves
While she finds it impossible to escape the surge of adrenaline before a fight, Michelle says being able to see her parents Karen and Grant, both 61, and brother Reece, 34, in the front row helped take the pressure off. It also helped secure the win in one of the most important moments of her life.
“It was the biggest arena I’d fought in, with the biggest crowd, but it honestly felt like fighting at home,” she says.
“When I came out and I heard my song, I felt at peace with it.”
Michelle is currently ranked eighth in her weight class and has her sights firmly set on becoming UFC champion. Yet she is equally determined to build a life beyond fighting, including having a family of her own.
“Between training and recovery, I’d feel sorry for anyone who was my partner, so I’ve got to wait until the time is right,” she admits.
“Unfortunately, that does give it a bit of a timeline, but I work well under pressure, so bring it!”
