Former UFC Champion Nicco Montano Speaks Out On USADA Sanction

Former UFC women’s flyweight title holder Nicco Montano has issued a statement following her suspension.

Yesterday (April 23), the U.S. Anti-Doping Agency (USADA) announced that four fighters have accepted six-month sanctions. Those fighters are Montano, Sean O’Malley, Marvin Vettori, and Augusto Mendes. All fighters took supplements that were proven to be contaminated. Montano will be eligible to return after May 15 as her period of ineligibility began on Nov. 15.

Montano took to her Instagram account to release the following statement:

“First and foremost, I would like to thank my friends, family, and all of my fans for their continued support during this difficult period in my life. As you all know, USADA was unable to locate the source of my contamination. I will continue to remain diligent in my responsibilities to USADA and the UFC. I would like to acknowledge Donna Marcolini and Jeff Novitzky with the UFC for their assistance in this process. This suspension has further inspired me to work even harder of achieving my goals in the UFC. I hope to make my return this summer.”

Montano hasn’t competed since Dec. 2017. She was set to defend her women’s flyweight gold against Valentina Shevchenko at UFC 228 back in Sept. 2018, but was pulled from the event due to a failed weight cut. Montano was stripped of the 125-pound gold.