Back to the MMA Newsfeed

TUF 26’s Nicco Montano began following late father’s legacy before she ever realized it

LOS ANGELES — Nicco Montano never knew her father that well. Montano was raised by her mother and mother’s side of the family in Navajo Nation, the largest Native American reservation in the United States.

Her father lived in Farmington, N.M., and Montano didn’t visit often. When she did, he always told her to come to his gym.

Frankie Montano was something of a local legend in Farmington, a boxer turned boxing coach and promoter. He spent just about every waking moment at that gym. Nicco didn’t necessarily resent it; she just didn’t get it.