Athletes
Alberto Montes | Worth The Wait
Venezuelan Debutant Has Waited More Than A Year For His Octagon Debut. Now He’s Ready To Showcase His Skills To The World.
Alberto Montes had to wait patiently for his UFC debut. But now he’s here, he’s ready to show the world what he’s capable of.
Montes earned his shot in the Octagon back in October 2024 when he submitted Carlos Calderon via second-round anaconda choke on Dana White’s Contender Series. But a planned debut against Roberto Romero at UFC 314 in Miami fell by the wayside after Montes sustained a rib injury that put him out for much longer than anticipated.
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But now, after biding his time and letting his body heal, “The Promise” will finally get to make that walk to the Octagon at T-Mobile Arena when he takes on Ricky Turcios in a featherweight matchup at UFC 326 on Saturday night.
“I feel amazing. I’ve really waited for this for a long time,” said a beaming Montes, who was clearly overjoyed to have finally made it to his first UFC fight week. “It’s my dream, but we couldn’t do it before, because I had a small injury on my ribs and all the problems (that came with it), but now we're on the fight week and we are very excited.”
Fighters will always try to find ways to work around injuries and keep training where they can. But rib injuries can be tricky to negotiate, as Montes can attest.
“The pain is a lot,” he recalled. “I remember for maybe three months, I couldn’t even breathe or sleep good. Like, really, super bad. But after maybe five, six months, I feel amazing. I said, ‘Look, I wanna fight.’ I came to the PI to check my ribs and everything. And they looked at me said, ‘Look, you need seven months more,’ and I said, ‘No way!’ But now I feel amazing. I feel good. And I have, like, two ribs, it’s better than one! I feel good.”
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It may have been frustrating at the time, but Montes heeded the advice he was given as he missed UFC 316 and continued to give his injury time to properly heal. As a result, the Venezuelan is ready to make the walk for his debut with no niggles, aches or pains, so he can fight to his full potential.
“I think it was a very smart decision I took at that moment, but really, like, a broken-hearted decision,” he admitted. “But I had to take that decision because I couldn’t do anything. I couldn’t even throw a punch, I couldn’t even breathe good. And now I feel like nearly 100 percent, and I think it’s the first fight of my life that I don’t have any pain in my body. That’s amazing.”
Montes is also happy to have been rebooked onto another numbered event, meaning that he doesn’t miss out on the big-arena experience for his Octagon debut.
“I’m the type of fighter to be on a big card, you know?” he said. “I love fighting at the APEX – I fought (there) on the Contender Series, and that was the biggest fight of my life – but I think I’m a guy to fight on something with the biggest (audience), and that’s why I wanted to fight in Miami at that moment. That was an amazing card, but bad things happen. But now I’m here, and I’m ready to show who I am.”
MORE UFC 326: Oliveira's Vibes | Holloway's Flowers | Main Event Deep Dive | Co-Main Preview | Fighters On The Rise | Rematch Timeline
The eagerness to step into the Octagon and deliver is written all over Montes’s face as he answers our questions. He’s had to sit on his opportunity for almost a year and a half. But now, that opportunity has finally arrived, and he’s ready to step onto the big stage and fulfill the potential he always believed he had.
The story behind his nickname, “The Promise”, perfectly explains his motivation as he gets ready for fight night.
“It’s about a promise I made to my mom at one part of my life,” he explained. “Because my mom, she doesn’t like this sport, and she always wanted me to go to university and stuff. I come from Venezuela. When you say in that type of country that, ‘I want to be a UFC fighter,’ it’s a crazy dream, you know? … At that moment, I started fighting internationally in Panama, and I’m doing my studies at university at the same time. And it’s a lot. I said to my mom, ‘Look mom, let me try. Let me try my best. If I don’t fight out of Venezuela before 2022, I’ll quit the sport and dedicate my life to my studies. But let me try.’
“I said, ‘I’m doing this with maybe 30-40 percent of my effort, because all the other people aren’t working or studying. I really want to focus 100 percent,’ and I promised my mom that, ‘Look, I’m gonna do my best. If I can’t, I quit. But let me try.’ And she said, ‘OK, let’s do it,’ and that’s when I started doing everything.”
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Now, Montes is ready to step into the Octagon with his mother’s blessing, though he admitted that winning her over to the sport is still very much a work-in-progress.
“She still hates the sport,” he laughed. “But you know what? Every time I fight, she feels better. Now she’s excited for the fight. My dad, when I fight, is amazing. He bought a TV maybe one week ago, just to watch my fight. The TV is bigger than the wall!”
That TV will have his family gathered around it on Saturday night as Montes finally makes his UFC debut against The Ultimate Fighter Season 29 alum Turcios. It’s a matchup Montes is excited for as he pits his skills against one of the more unpredictable fighters on the roster.
“I think he's a good fighter,” he said. “He's a guy with a lot of experience. I think we are almost the same on that, because he’s fought since a long time ago (and) I’ve fought since a long time ago. He made his career here. I made my career in Venezuela. Now I’m here too.
“I think it's gonna be a fun fight. He's unpredictable fighter, and me, too. He's more chaotic than me. I'm more technical. But I think it's going to be a beautiful fight.”
It’s also the chance for Montes to represent his country on the biggest stage in combat sports, and he said that he’s far from the only talented fighter that we’ll see coming from his nation in the years to come.
“It means a lot, because I truly believe that Venezuela has amazing fighters,” he explained. “If you ask me about talent, Venezuela has big talent, and the moment they can get out of the country and compete in other events, we’re going to have more fighters in the UFC – I know it.”
And with Montes determined to fly the flag for his country and make his family proud, the 31-year-old said he wants to make a big first impression on his UFC debut.
“Guys, I haven’t fought for a long time because I had a big injury, not because I wanted to stay in my bed all the time. But now, I just want to send a message with my work,” he said. “I want to show who I am. I want to show I’m a high-level, skilled (fighter), whatever position, boxing, kickboxing, wrestling, jiu-jitsu – whatever place the fights go, I’m a high-level guy.”
UFC 326: Holloway vs Oliveira 2 took place live from T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada on March 7, 2026. See the final Prelim & Main Card Results, Official Scorecards and Who Won Bonuses - and relive the action on UFC FIGHT PASS!
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