Jacqueline Cavalcanti faces unbeaten Montague at UFC Qatar
Cavalcanti returns from her first UFC loss against an unbeaten New Zealand wrestler who won her first six pro fights by rear-naked choke.
Jacqueline Cavalcanti will face unbeaten New Zealander Michelle Montague at UFC Qatar on Nov. 21 at ABHA Arena in Doha. The women’s bantamweight bout, announced this week, pits the No. 8 and No. 12 fighters in the division’s rankings against each other.
It will be Cavalcanti’s first fight since her loss to Ketlen Vieira in May. Montague is 8-0 and has already beaten two Brazilians in the UFC.
Cavalcanti’s first UFC loss
Born in Brazil and raised in Portugal, Cavalcanti has lived in Las Vegas since 2024 and trains at Syndicate MMA. She debuted in the UFC in 2023 and won her first five fights with the promotion: Zarah Fairn, Josiane Nunes, Nora Cornolle, Julia Avila and Mayra Bueno Silva.
The run ended on May 16, when Ketlen Vieira beat her by unanimous decision. Counting her fights before the UFC, it snapped an eight-fight win streak. Cavalcanti is now 10-2.
Vieira left the UFC after that fight, signed with the PFL and this month was suspended six months for doping after facing Cris Cyborg. The suspension relates to the Cyborg fight and has nothing to do with the Cavalcanti bout.
Who is Michelle Montague
Montague is 32 and was the first woman from New Zealand to fight in the UFC. Before MMA, she represented her country in freestyle wrestling at the World Championships and the Commonwealth Games.
She trains at American Top Team in Florida alongside Kayla Harrison. Before the UFC, she fought in the PFL and won the first six fights of her pro career, all by rear-naked choke.
She debuted in the UFC in September 2025 with a unanimous decision over Brazil’s Luana Carolina. In April, she beat Mayra Bueno Silva, also by unanimous decision. Another win should put her in the division’s top 10.
Mayra Bueno Silva, the common opponent
Bueno Silva is the clearest measuring stick between the two. Cavalcanti beat the former title challenger by unanimous decision in November 2025. Five months later, Montague did the same.
Their styles, however, are almost opposite. According to official UFC stats, Cavalcanti is a striker: 95% of the significant strikes she has landed in the promotion came on the feet, none on the ground, and she stops 86% of takedown attempts. None of her ten wins came by submission.
Montague goes the other way. Six of her eight wins came by submission, all by rear-naked choke. If she can get the fight down and take the back, it moves into her territory. If Cavalcanti keeps it standing, she fights where she lands 5.3 significant strikes per minute.
The division has been busy. Earlier this month, Alice Pereira beat a ranked opponent and sent a message to the bantamweights, and the winner in Doha also moves up the line.
The UFC Qatar card
Jiří Procházka and Navajo Stirling headline the event at light heavyweight. Along with Cavalcanti vs. Montague, the UFC added a bout between Brazil’s Nikolas Motta (15-6, 1 NC) and Dom Mar Fan (9-3).
The card so far:
- Jiří Procházka vs. Navajo Stirling
- Aljamain Sterling vs. Kevin Vallejos
- Dan Hooker vs. Brian Ortega
- Jared Cannonier vs. Ikram Aliskerov
- Shamil Gaziev vs. Tallison Teixeira
- Jake Matthews vs. Tahir Abdullayev
- Aleksandre Topuria vs. Santiago Luna
- Asu Almabayev vs. Kyoji Horiguchi
- Amir Albazi vs. Alessandro Costa
- Nikolas Motta vs. Dom Mar Fan
- Jacqueline Cavalcanti vs. Michelle Montague
What do you think: does Cavalcanti bounce back by keeping it standing, or does Montague take her down and stay unbeaten? Leave your pick in the comments.
Read more:
- Ketlen Vieira suspended for doping after Cris Cyborg fight
- Alice Pereira beats ranked opponent at UFC and fires back: “My division is more alive than ever”
- Renato Moicano vs. Tom Nolan headlines UFC Vegas 123
