"It was a freak accident. It was before I worked with Jordi and perhaps my body wasn't getting the fuel that it really needed. I wasn't going around hungry or starving, but I was getting light too early, probably. Looking at it, I didn't have to be that light that early. I thought I was just fit and ready to go and didn't want to stress about the weight side of it, but it probably came down to my bones getting weak through malnutrition with the amount of training I was doing."
While she is fit and ready to fight, spending her time training out of the famed American Top Team gym in Florida, Montague's involvement in the Birmingham Games wasn't a sure thing until a fortnight ago. Scheduled to have an MMA bout with the Professional Fighters League (PFL) – one of the sport's major promotions – it looked likely that Montague would have to forgo another opportunity at the Games as the bout was booked for during the Birmingham event.
It was the second time Montague had been matched up with the proposed opponent and, after having just told the New Zealand team she wouldn't be able to join them because the fight looked like it would go ahead this time, her opponent withdrew again.
"I was delaying it as much as I could," Montague said of making the call on her availability for the Games. "I was trying to find out if my fight was 100 per cent going to happen or if there was going to be a backup girl if this chick pulled out again – because I considered that she would pull out again.
"It was a decision I was dragging my toes on. Obviously, the New Zealand team needed to know a straight yes or no kind of thing, and literally 24 hours after I said I couldn't come over, the chick pulled out again."
It was the latest frustration in a year in which Montague had hoped to build herself towards fighting in the $1m women's lightweight tournament with the PFL in 2023. The former amateur MMA world champion had a trial bout to join the 2022 tournament, and won with a spectacular first-round submission. However, given that was her professional bout, she joined the promotion on a development plan with the hope of getting a few fights under her belt this year before moving into the tournament next year.
With the promotion hosting events in the UK in the two weeks following the Commonwealth games, Montague has been clear that she will be available should there be any late-notice opportunities arise, but admits 2023 might be another development yet.
"Whether it's next season or the one after, I'm not bothered," she said of getting her shot in the $1m tournament. "It might be the one after based on how we're going now, but I'm always there as a fill-in if they need it.
"It's not often there's a silver lining when twice over an opponent pulls out and they can't get a replacement. That in itself obviously sucks, but in the unique situation that I've found myself in, it meant I was able to rejoin the Commonwealth Games team after having to pull out essentially...so it somehow worked out really well and I'm very grateful for that."
