Matamata’s Michelle Montague climbs into UFC top fifteen with second straight win in Vegas
Matamata fighter Michelle Montague has moved into the top fifteen of the UFC women’s bantamweight division after a comprehensive unanimous decision win over former title contender Mayra Bueno Silva at UFC Vegas 116, taking her undefeated professional record to eight wins and no losses.
The 32-year-old, who became the first New Zealand woman to sign with the promotion last year, now sits inside the official rankings after just two appearances in the Octagon. She fought on the preliminary card at the UFC Apex on Saturday night Vegas time, and the win has lifted her into the global top fifteen at 135 pounds, a striking rise for someone making only her second walk to the cage under the UFC banner.
Bueno Silva, a Brazilian who challenged for the bantamweight title in 2024, came into the contest as the twelfth-ranked contender and was a heavy stylistic test. The pair were briefly teammates at American Top Team in Florida, where Montague has spent significant time refining the grappling that has become her signature.
The fight itself was decided largely on the canvas. Montague secured a takedown inside the first twenty seconds and rode out the opening round controlling the position, mixing short ground strikes with steady pressure that gave Bueno Silva almost no opportunity to start her trademark scrambles. The official scorecards read 30-27, 29-29 and 29-28, with two of the three judges giving Montague the round 10-9 in their cards while the third scored all three rounds her way.
Round two was the most contested of the bout. Bueno Silva, looking to drag herself back into proceedings, kept her distance for the first half and landed several heavier strikes on the feet. When she eventually initiated grappling exchanges of her own, Montague reversed the position and finished the round on top, but the judging panel split on it, with one judge favouring the Brazilian.
The third round followed the pattern of the first. Another takedown inside thirty seconds, another long stretch of top control, and although Bueno Silva briefly reversed the position late, the New Zealander quickly recovered and saw out a clear win. The decision was met with little surprise inside the venue or among the assembled media.
Speaking afterwards, Montague made it clear she has no interest in waiting for a perfect matchup. Talking to RNZ, she said her next opponent would be accepted regardless of identity. “The number will be my manager’s number calling me with a name and us saying yes no matter who it is,” she said.
Montague said she had been told to take three weeks away from full contact after the fight before returning to camp, with a likely turnaround of about four weeks. “They said I had to wait three weeks because I just fought, so I guess four weeks,” she said, adding that her current contract is built around accumulating fights and that more experience would only sharpen her game.
The win is the latest waypoint in an unusually fast climb. Montague came to mixed martial arts late by professional standards, with a background in rugby and amateur wrestling that has given her the kind of body strength and ground awareness that does not come quickly to most fighters. Her UFC debut, in Perth in September 2025, ended in a finish, and her second outing has now delivered a ranked scalp.
For Bueno Silva, the loss is a fifth in a row, a sharp fall for a fighter who eighteen months ago was sharing a cage with the divisional champion. Her form has prompted speculation in the American MMA media about her position on the roster, although her willingness to push through three full rounds with a rising contender will likely keep her in the conversation.
Montague’s rise comes during a strong period for New Zealand mixed martial arts. The New Zealand Herald reports that her move into the top fifteen makes her the highest-ranked New Zealand woman the UFC has ever fielded, and a fight against a top-ten contender now looks the natural next step.
Before stepping fully into combat sports Montague played rugby at provincial level and competed in wrestling, two disciplines whose carryover into mixed martial arts is well established. The grappling base in particular has shaped her style at every level she has fought, with most of her professional wins coming via top control or submission. Against Bueno Silva, the same template held, only this time against a much more experienced opponent in the toughest promotion in the sport.
Her arrival into the rankings also lands at a moment where New Zealand’s UFC presence has been thinned by retirements and rebuilds, with Montague now the standout name in the women’s division and a clear focal point for fans following the sport from home. Local promotions have been pushing more fighters towards the regional circuits in Australia, and a ranked New Zealand woman headlining future UFC cards in Sydney or Auckland is now a realistic prospect rather than an aspirational one.
What happens next is, by Montague’s own admission, in someone else’s hands. The matchmakers will weigh up which higher-ranked fighter is most willing to face an undefeated grappler with finishing power, and the call may come quickly. Whichever name comes back, the Matamata fighter has already signalled her answer.
What did you make of Michelle Montague’s win in Vegas, and who would you like to see her face next? Drop your thoughts in the comments below.