Taking in her surroundings in Perth, the magnitude of the position isn’t lost on Michelle Montague.
On Sunday, the Matamata mixed martial artist will become the first New Zealand woman to compete in the UFC when she takes on Brazilian Luana Carolina.
Joining the world’s top MMA promotion with a 6-0 record, all six wins coming by submission, the 31-year-old knows she has earned her place in the UFC.
But that’s not to say she doesn’t feel the pressure that comes with being the one to break that barrier.
“Yeah, but that’s a beautiful privilege, right? Like, for me to have that label is something that isn’t just given randomly. I’ve earned that spot and now is the cool thing to actually do something with that, right?
“When I do what I’ve done every other fight, in a perfect world, that’s exactly what I need to do to earn that label.”
Montague, who is now Florida-based and training at the famed American Top Team gym, will link back up with coach Carlo Meister from Hamilton’s Core MMA for the bout, with Meister having been her first MMA coach and in her corner for all but one fight in her amateur and professional career to date.
They have also brought promising Core MMA lightweight Ethan Brockett over to Western Australia to be in the corner, while one of her coaches from ATT will take the third spot. Although Montague and Brockett haven’t spent a lot of time on the mats together, she says his eye for the sport was a big boost.
As for the week itself, Montague says it has been a comfortable introduction to the sport’s top level.
“It doesn’t feel any different when I zoom in and just think about me and the team, it feels the same. But when I zoom out, I’m like, oh, yeah, this is a big production. But having enough of the same consistencies around me makes it feel nice and normal.”
Montague makes her debut against a fighter with an 11-4 professional record and nine UFC appearances to her credit, with Carolina currently ranked at No 15 in the women’s flyweight division.
The pair will meet at bantamweight, one weight class higher than flyweight, which is expected to be a comfortable class for both. While Montague has spent her career at lightweight and featherweight, she says bantamweight is a more natural weight class for her, with Carolina having a couple of weight missing on her resume suggesting the move up will suit her as well.
The bout is a classic clash of styles. Carolina does her best work when able to strike, while grappling is Montague’s world.
“I kind of like her wild loopiness,” Montague says of the match-up. “Like, she has a bit of a crazy style and I do, but on the other end of the spectrum where it’s like crazy in the grappling sense ... I think that is why it could be probably an exciting fight.”
Montague will be one of several Kiwis competing on the card.
No 3-ranked light heavyweight Carlos Ulberg will be looking to stake his claim to a title shot in the main event against No 7 and two-time title challenger Dominick Reyes. Fellow light heavyweight Navajo Stirling will look to continue his strong start in the UFC against Rodolfo Bellato, while Brisbane-based Kiwi heavyweight Justin Tafa welcomes UFC newcomer Louie Sutherland.
Australians Brando Peričić and Cameron Rowston, who train at Auckland’s City Kickboxing, will also be making their UFC debuts on the card.
RAC Arena. Sunday, September 28. The card gets under way at 12pm on ESPN 2, Sky Sport Now and UFC Fight Pass. The Herald will also be running a live blog of all the action.
Light heavyweight main event: Carlos Ulberg (3) v Dominick Reyes (7)
Heavyweight: Brando Peričić v Elisha Ellison
Light heavyweight: Navajo Stirling v Rodolfo Bellato
Middleweight: Cameron Rowston v Andre Petroski
Bantamweight: Michelle Montague v Luana Carolina
Heavyweight: Justin Tafa v Louie Sutherland
Lightweight: Tom Nolan v Charlie Campbell
Light heavyweight: Jimmy Crute v Ivan Erslan
Strawweight: Loma Lookboonmee (14) v Alexia Thainara
Welterweight: Jake Matthews v Neil Magny
Featherweight: Jack Jenkins v Ramon Taveras
Welterweight: Jonathan Micallef v Oban Elliott
Bantamweight: Colby Thicknesse v Josias Musasa
Lightweight: Jamie Mullarkey v Rolando Bedoya
Christopher Reive joined the Herald sports team in 2017, bringing the same versatility to his coverage as he does to his sports viewing habits.