Former flyweight champion, Nicco Montaño blames cocktail shaker for caught anti-doping

N. Montaño justifies doping case. Photo: Reproduction/Instagram @nrmontano

The first flyweight champion (up to 56,7kg) of the UFC, Nicco Montaño experienced moments of anguish in the last months of her career. After winning the category belt in 2017, the athlete was removed after having problems making weight for her fight against Shevchenko, which would take place in September of last year. Without the title, the athlete was still caught in an anti-doping test, which kept her away from the octagons. In an interview with 'MMA Fighting', the fighter spoke about the case and transferred the blame to an alleged contaminated cocktail shaker.

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“When I found out about the doping, we started to discuss what could have happened and we realized that it could have happened due to sharing bottles of shakes (a protein liquid that helps maintain proteins in the body),” said the athlete. “Many things could have happened, but the amount of substances caught was very small. It was frustrating because I was doing everything right. All the supplements I was taking were legal”, reported the former champion.

The athlete also stated that she feared that she would no longer be able to work for the UFC, as the doping accusation came shortly after the fighter failed in her commitment to face the current champion of the division, Valentina Shevchenko, in September 2018. With two controversies in a row, the North American came to believe that she would be cut from the list of Ultimate fighters.

“I had to wait to see what the UFC was going to do, because it looked like it was one mistake after another. I felt like I would never have the opportunity to fight again. But I was patient and everything ended well.”

After being caught by USADA, Nicco received a minimum punishment of six months, and is now ready to return to his commitments inside the octagon. The athlete even has a new fight scheduled against Sara McMann, at UFC Sacramento, on July 13.

After a year and a half away from mixed martial arts, Montaño will be able to dream again of recovering the title he lost last year.

At 30 years old, the American has six fights on her professional record, with four wins and two losses.