Commonwealth Games: After possible unavailability, Michelle Montague has confirmed that she will wrestle in Birmingham

Michelle Montague’s once-in-a-lifetime journey to the Commonwealth Games appears to be coming to an end, with the Kiwi wrestler having signed up to represent New Zealand in Birmingham.

The 28-year-old player from Matamata will have her second chance
compete in the Games when she lands in Birmingham next week, having been sent off with an injury in 2018.

Montague traveled to Canada to train for the 2018 event on the Gold Coast. However, in one of the final sessions of her journey, she fired for a takedown on her partner in warm-ups. Her opponent didn’t fully extend in defense, but put some weight on her and moved on. This small weight was enough to break a bone in his lower left leg and exclude him from competition.

“I’m not going to count my chickens,” Montague said of his participation in this year’s Games. “Accidents happen. God willing, I’m going in one piece and that, but I know bullshit happens. You don’t want to think it’s gonna happen, but you just have to be aware that it’s always a possibility with these kinds of sports. I’m absolutely thrilled, but I’ll be more thrilled when I put both feet up, walking through the village ready to go.

Reflecting on the 2018 injury, Montague said it could have been down to his nutrition. Today, training for a career as a professional mixed martial artist, she works alongside Australian nutritionist Jordi Sullivan and his team at The Fight Dietitian, which specializes in helping combat sports athletes achieve competition weight in the safest way possible.

“It was a freak accident. It was before I worked with Jordi and maybe my body wasn’t getting the fuel it really needed. I wasn’t hungry or hungry, but I probably had light too soon I didn’t need to be this light so soon I thought I was just fit and ready to go and didn’t want to worry about the weight side but it probably came down to that my bones were getting weaker and malnourished with the amount of training I was doing.

While she’s fit and ready to fight, spending her time training at America’s famed Top Team gym in Florida, Montague’s appearance at the Birmingham Games wasn’t a sure thing until recently. at fifteen days. Scheduled to have an MMA bout with the Professional Fighters League (PFL) – one of the sport’s major promotions – it seemed likely Montague would have to forfeit another opportunity at the Games as the fight was booked at the Birmingham event. .

It was Montague’s second time facing the proposed opponent and, after just telling Team New Zealand that they couldn’t join them as the fight seemed to be going this time, his opponent walked away. again removed.

“I was delaying as much as possible,” Montague said of his availability for the Games. “I was trying to figure out if my fight was going to happen 100% or if there would be a backup girl if this chick pulled out again – because I thought she would pull out again.

“It was a decision I was dragging my feet over. Obviously the New Zealand team needed to know a yes or a no, and literally 24 hours after I said I couldn’t come, the chick withdrew again.”

It was the last frustration in a year that Montague had hoped to fight in the women’s $1 million lightweight tournament with the PFL in 2023. The former world amateur MMA champion had a tryout bout to join the 2022 tournament and won with a spectacular first-round submission. However, since this was her professional fight, she joined the promotion on a development plan hoping to get a few fights under her belt this year before moving on to the tournament next year.

With the promotion holding events in the UK in the two weeks following the Commonwealth Games, Montague has made it clear she will be available if there is a late notice opportunity, but admits 2023 could still be another development.

“Whether it’s next season or the one after that, I don’t mind,” she said of her luck in the $1million tournament. “It could be the next one depending on how we go now, but I’m still there as a backup if they need it.

“It’s not often there’s a silver lining when an opponent retires twice and they can’t get a replacement. That in itself obviously sucks, but in the unique situation I found myself in found it meant I was able to join the Commonwealth Games squad after having to essentially step down…so it worked out really well and I’m very grateful for that.”