Athletes
Michelle Montague | Far Too Motivated To Fail
New Zealand Bantamweight Eyes Place In Rankings After Win Over Mayra Bueno Silva
Coming out of her UFC debut in Perth last September, Michelle Montague spoke at her post-fight media availability about how fighting in Australia and having her family in attendance helped settle her before making the walk to the Octagon for the first time. Poised to make her second start under the UFC banner this weekend in a clash with Mayra Bueno Silva at the Meta APEX in Las Vegas, the New Zealand bantamweight is ready to revise her initial statement of comfort.
“I’ve been thinking about that a little bit,” Montague said with a smile when asked about her level of comfort last year and how it impacted her preparations for her sophomore showing on Saturday. “All the external parts of my debut felt very homey, right, with the country, with the people behind the scenes, with my family being there; that all made it feel very like ' at home’ vibes. But I’ve been thinking this week that at the APEX, it’s also the same thing: it’s much less daunting walking into a building like that, the smaller cage compared to when I was walking out in that arena between all the stadium seats, and then you’re in the middle of the Octagon, and you can’t hear or see much.
Watch This And Every UFC Event On Paramount+
“I just was thinking this week that was far more daunting, no matter what the external parts were. My mom and dad will be at this fight as well, but with it being in Vegas and that all sounding scary, it’s actually not. You’re in a little arena —we’ve done that before.”
Montague laughed at her shift in positions seven months after her debut, but was also quick to acknowledge that all of it is part of the journey, and at the end of the day, no matter where you are or how it feels, once you’re out there, there’s not much you can do.
“Every fighter knows this: you can’t locate the feeling of going out for an actual UFC fight,” continued Montague. “You can do all the other training and preparing mentally and physically, but that’s the one part that no matter how many times you do it, you even hear the veterans say you’re still going to walk out, and it’s like, ‘Ugh — what am I doing?’
“The closest we can get to it are mental reps and physical reps outside of the fight itself, but once you get there, it doesn’t matter —you’re in it.”
MORE UFC FIGHT NIGHT: Zalal Living With Purpose | Fighters On The Rise | Fight By Fight Preview
Her bout in September marked the first time in her professional career that Montague had not won her fight inside the distance by rear-naked choke, and while winning quickly and maintaining her 100-percent finishing rate would have been lovely, the American Top Team representative knows that in the long run, logging 15 minutes of cage time straight away is going to be invaluable as she looks to continue working forward in the bantamweight division.
“It’s huge, right?” she said. “On the one hand, to finish people, get them in the first round, you’re in and out of there, but I’m someone that has only had seven pro fights, and that time in the cage is priceless.
“It’s not like I intentionally didn’t finish the girl — I was trying pretty hard to — but to get all that time in that setting, having two breaks with the coaches coming in and getting that information is super-valuable going forward; you know what it looks like, you know what it feels like, you know what your body is doing. That experience is massive, and to come out of that and get the win, get nine stitches before 9 a.m. — it’s good.”
If competing in Australia brought a layer of familiarity to her first fight, the individual standing across from her on Saturday night will be the “been here before” element of her second outing inside the Octagon.
Montague and Bueno Silva worked together routinely when both were training at American Top Team in Coconut Creek, Florida. Over the last couple of fights, Bueno Silva has shifted her camp away from the South Florida outpost, spending time with the Fighting Nerds and elsewhere, while Montague continued sharpening her skills at her North American home base of the last four-plus years.
View Montague's Athlete Profile
“We trained together a s***load and we hadn’t seen each other since she left the gym however long ago,” explained Montague. “A lot of people have banter, but mine with her had an extra bit of sass to it, in a loving way. The funny thing was, before I got offered her to fight, I was going into sparring, helping out one of the girls or something, and I remember thinking, ‘I need to remember the way I felt before I would go and spar ‘Sheetara.’ We’d put all the friendliness aside and be in there fighting.
“I remember reminding myself of that feeling —how I’d feel before I sparred ‘Sheetara’ and how I’d get so in the zone for it; there wasn’t a feeling-out period. Within the next week, I got the call and was offered here, so I thought that was real divine, you know?”
Teammates —or in this case, former teammates — facing off can be a tricky dance when it comes to the exchange of information and knowledge gleaned from working together or with shared coaches. But in this case, Montague said there was none of that, nor was it even a consideration because years of training alongside one another provided her with all the information she needed to know about preparing for her showdown with the former bantamweight title challenger.
“I know what she does, what she goes for, what she looks for,” Montague said. “We’re very, very prepared for all of those things, but for her, when we trained together and where I am now, I’m a completely different fighter, so that’ll be something tricky on their end.”
A win over Bueno Silva could potentially put Montague in the rankings in only her second UFC appearance, a moment she believes she’ll handle with ease.
“I like the pressure; I thrive under pressure. I know how she hits, I know how she kicks, I know what her submission skills are like, so now it’s just a matter of proving I’m better at dealing with all of those than the people she’s beaten.”
Michelle Montague Fight Week Interview | UFC Fight Night: Sterling vs Zalal
Unlock MORE of your inner combat sports fan with UFC Fight Pass! Fighting is what we live for. And no one brings you MORE live fights, new shows, and events across multiple combat sports from around the world. With a never-ending supply of fighting in every discipline, there`s always something new to watch. Leave it to the world`s authority in MMA to bring you the Ultimate 24/7 platform for MORE combat sports, UFC Fight Pass!
Michelle Montague Fight Week Interview | UFC Fight Night: Sterling vs Zalal
/
And what will it mean to collect a win over her former training partner on Saturday?
“It’s just gonna mean we’re doing the right s***, we’re on the right track,” Montague said with a smile. “God’s got me, I‘ve got pure faith in everything we’re doing and the work we’re done as a team, and I know that I’m more motivated for this than her. I won’t say why —maybe after the fight — but I know that for a fact and that in my mind too is I’m winning this fight.”
That confidence extends to how she gets it done as well.
“I finish her in the first round,” she added without hesitation. “Too much pressure, too much strength, too much speed; too smart, too practiced, and far, far too motivated.”
UFC Fight Night: Sterling vs Zalal took place live from Meta APEX in Las Vegas, Nevada on April 25, 2026. See the final Prelim & Main Card Results, Official Scorecards and Who Won Bonuses - and relive the action on UFC FIGHT PASS!