Montano says she hasn't defended flyweight title due to infection

(Warning: Story contains coarse language)

The UFC's first-ever women's flyweight champion, Nicco Montano, hasn't been in action since winning her belt at "The Ultimate Fighter 26" finale last December. She slammed a report about the delay Tuesday, disclosing that a bacterial infection has been holding her back in training all year.

MMA Fighting's Ariel Helwani reported that the UFC is losing patience with Montano (4-2) after unsuccessfully trying to book her first defense against Valentina Shevchenko for July. The 125-pound titleholder responded at length via Instagram, and took several personal shots at Helwani for good measure.

Montano also noted that she underwent a tonsillectomy and adenoidectomy five days ago. She said the UFC is still looking to match her up with Shevchenko (15-3), though Montano didn't necessarily dispute Helwani's account of the promotion's frustration.

"Soonest I can get back on the mats is 16 more days," Montano wrote. "The UFC not only knows about this but flew me out to Vegas themselves to get this surgery done ASAP so I can jump on getting a fight with Shevchenko lined up."