Nicco Montano Issues Statement On PED Supension

Former UFC women’s flyweight champion Nicco Montano was one of four fighters recently revealed to have been suspended for using banned substance Ostarine.

Montano’s run in the UFC has been a rollercoaster ride, to say the least. She stormed out to a victory on The Ultimate Fighter (TUF) 26 in late 2017. The win earned her the inaugural UFC women’s 125-pound title after she beat Roxanne Modafferi.

But Montano has not fought since. She was scheduled to fight current divisional champion Valentina Shevchenko at last September’s UFC 228. However, a forced hospitalization removed her from the bout at the last minute. Montano was curiously absent from any and all headlines ever since.

We found out why yesterday when it was announced she had been retroactively suspended for six months by USADA. Montano has since released a statement on her suspension and expected UFC return to her Instagram account. Read it below:

“First and foremost, I would like to thank my friends, family, and all of my fans for their continued support during this difficult period in my life. As you all know, USADA was unable to locate the source of my contamination. I will continue to remain diligent in my responsibilities to USADA and the UFC.  I would like to acknowledge Donna Marcolini and Jeff Novitzky with the UFC for their assistance in this process. This suspension has further inspired me to work even harder of achieving my goals in the UFC. I hope to make my return this summer.”