Dana White questions Nicco Montano’s UFC future: ‘This might not be the sport for her’

Nicco Montano has struggled to make it to the UFC cage in recent years, which has her boss, Dana White, unsure about her future.

The first women’s flyweight champion in promotion history, Montano (4-3 MMA, 1-1 UFC) has competed only once since she won the title in December 2017, and it was a loss to Juliana Pena.

On Tuesday, White addressed Montano’s latest weight miss this past weekend at UFC on ESPN 28 for the first time and questioned the former champ’s future in mixed martial arts.

“I don’t know off the top of my head, but over three or four of her fights have been canceled,” White said. “I think no matter what weight class you put her at, she seems to have a hard time making weight. This might not be the sport for her.”

Eight of Montano’s 10 scheduled matchups with the promotion have been canceled or postponed. Six of those changes have been due to a withdrawal on her side, with three attributed to weight cutting, including last Friday’s miss by seven pounds for her bantamweight bout.

Montano, 32, has missed weight both at flyweight and bantamweight. She also tested positive for ostarine and was suspended six months by USADA retroactive to October 2018. Her other UFC withdrawals were due to a positive COVID-19 test by one of her coaches and an injury suffered during training camp for a fight against Macy Chiasson.