Michelle Montague

When and why did you start training for fighting? I was 20 years old and had never heard of MMA/BJJ or any martial arts disciplines aside from in movies, but on youtube one day i stumbled across a trending video of this woman who of course we all know (but I didn't at the time) - Ronda Rousey. I saw her fighting and demolishing these other women, with a physique not too dissimilar to mine and all I could think of was all those fights I used to get into from when I was a tiny child to high school aged and realised like WHOA - THIS IS AN ACTUAL SPORT!?? So I googled "MMA gym near me", there was one 45mins away called Core MMA (in the same city I was training rugby every day) and I met Carlo that next day and 10 years later, here we are! 

Any accomplishments in amateur combat sports? 2022 IBJJF Blue Belt Open World Champion, 2021 Shuriken Featherweight Champion, 2020 IMMAF Lightweight Oceania Champion, 2020 + 2019 NZ Submission Grappling National Champion, 2019 IMMAF Lightweight World Champion, 2019 IMMAF Lightweight Oceania Champion, 2019 UWW Wrestling Worlds - NZ Team Member, 2017 Oceania Wrestling Champion

Any belts/ ranks in grappling disciplines? Purple Belt in BJJ

What has been your toughest fight to date and why? Abby Montes at Madison Square Garden for sure! I was well prepared but was deaf in there and got way too into a box-off with a big strong Mexican boxer haha which was addicting but not the game plan. Took me until the 3rd round to switch up, get the takedown and secure the RNC. 155lb is fun and all, but that's like my walk around weight and I felt it in that fight more than any other, Abby is an athletic UNIT haha but we had a laugh over a beer about it all after the fight!

Who is your favorite fighter and why? I have a few in mind, but I will go with the current standout in my mind and that's gotta be Diego Lopes. His style in and out of the cage, his quiet and humble confidence, and his striking is amazing but his grappling flow and smoothness flowing between positions and attacking so many different submissions is just beauuuutiful! I remember his first fight short notice against the badass Evleov from ATT (the guy I see doing literal finger tip jumping push ups haha) and man.. that fight just blew my mind with what Diego was doing, and all factors considered too.

Did you go to college and if so what degree did you earn? No, I did a one year diploma at the Bay of Plenty Polytechnic in tourism/business. Which led me to a 1 year lifeguarding gig in Florida at the ripe old age of 19 and if I look back at all the dots lining up - it ultimately led me back to American Top Team all those years later!

What was your job before you started fighting? Helped on the farm growing up, did life-guarding for a number of years, and then I spent most of my time as the Factory Manager for Viking Kayaks (this was our family business for 20 years) where we manufactured the worlds best fishing kayaks at the time from little ole Matamata, New Zealand!

Origin of nickname: Since I was able to walk and talk I have been a crazy kid with a "you can't tell me what to do" attitude (for better or worse) and my parents used to call me Wild Child since I can remember! Whether I was picking fights with my big brother or kids at school, or riding the cows and calves on the farm rodeo style while mum and dad were milking, or drifting the home made go-kart down the gravel track on the farm or playing rugby with the boys since 4 years old; the list is endless... The Wild One nickname really needed no second thoughts as far as we all were concerned haha.

Personal Life/Background (family stuff, kids, etc): No kids for me at this stage and I am one of 2 kids myself. Proud aunty to my brother and cousins children though! I grew up on a 300 cow dairy farm, would go possum hunting with my Dad and brother Friday nights and save the babies to take care of and raise (to my Dads quiet dismay i'm sure). My Mum always had a horse or two as she competed in dressage competitions and she grew up riding them in the South Australia outback. I raced BMX for a while alongside my brother and Dad, and my brother and I even competed at the World Championships when they were held in Adelaide, Australia. I grew up on the water too, from fishing off kayaks, boats or rocks, and surfing with my family at the local beaches. We would take our motorbikes on trail rides in the bush and mud whenever we could. Whenever we had a birthday growing up, it would just be 20 kids each riding their own motorbike around the farm, making jumps etc. I got into a little trouble at school - being a bit eager to talk, I'll just say.. And getting into little stupid fist fights probably because of my big mouth too, because I thought I could back it up and shouldn't take shit from anyone - it is safe to say I matured past this and found my way to understanding more of the thoughtful/verbal conflict resolution skills haha.

Who are 3 people you'd love to meet or work with (celebrities, content creators, other fighters, sports stars)?:

• Cowboy Cerrone - I want to test my bull riding skills against him because I rate myself on the mechanical version..... and race/ride dirtbikes and rally cars with him
• Travis Pastrana - Always loved this dude growing up, met him once at Nitro Circus and I truly think he could get me to backflip my bike into his foam pit in 1 day for sure.
• Sallie Grace - she is an adrenaline junkie like me and grew up around boys, motorbikes and hectic activities. Would be a blast and probably wild a heck haha

What are your hobbies, activities or other interests when not training for a fight?: Fishing. Shark tooth hunting. Surfing. Skating/Bike riding. Dogs. DIY / building projects. Country line dancing. Making seashell art/jewelry. Wild life adventuring. Dirtbikes. Rodeo/bull riding. Rugby.