Alberto Montes Melissa Montenegro interview on knee surgery

The Alberto Montes Melissa Montenegro interview brought a difficult update from the Venezuelan fighter: he says he needs knee surgery after competing injured in his latest loss. Montes also told Montenegro that more than 10 years away from his parents has been his biggest sacrifice, and that he still wants to reach the top five in the Ultimate Fighting Championship and fight for a belt.

How did Alberto Montes begin his MMA journey in Venezuela?

Alberto Montes began martial arts with taekwondo at age four, then pursued other disciplines after a street fight showed him what happened when an opponent took him down. He later competed in regional tournaments, traveled regularly to train in Maracaia and tested himself at an event in Valencia, where he decided he wanted to keep fighting.

The street fight that changed his training

Montes recalled landing two hard body kicks on a larger local bully before the other person caught a kick and took him down. Others separated them. The experience left Montes aware that his taekwondo training had not prepared him for that position. He subsequently began training in Muay Thai and watching UFC fights as they became more visible in Venezuela.

His brother once asked whether he could picture himself fighting in the UFC. Montes said he could. He went on to compete in regional tournaments across multiple striking disciplines before trying an MMA event in Valencia. That bout came on short notice, and he said he was exhausted by the second round, but he liked how his mind and body responded to the fight.

Weekend trips to Maracaia

From about age 14, Montes traveled almost every weekend to train with a coach in Maracaia. He spent vacations there too, then returned home and tried to repeat what he had learned. The coach’s training space was at his home, near the garage; Montes remembered the heat, mosquitoes and the difficulty of sleeping there. Eventually, the coach’s son, who became one of his best friends, invited him to stay in his room.

Why does Alberto Montes call time away from his parents his biggest sacrifice?

Alberto Montes says being far from his parents for more than 10 years has been the biggest sacrifice of his fighting career. He moved to the United States at 21 and has continued pursuing MMA there, but the distance feels more pressing to him as his parents get older. He would like to see them, and hopes he can bring them to visit.

A message from his mother brought the length of that separation into focus. She told him she missed him and pointed out how many years had passed. Montes said the move initially felt exciting, but the years since have been hard.

Visiting his parents is difficult at present because of immigration matters, he said. His hope is to bring them to the United States, at least for a vacation. He did not give a date for a visit.

What did Alberto Montes say about his injury and knee surgery?

Alberto Montes says his latest loss is now the hardest moment of his career because he fought while injured and could not use his usual kicking game. He described a knee-ligament injury, abdominal muscle damage and further problems after the fight. He said he needs surgery and wants to recover before fighting again, rather than repeat the decision to compete with an injury that limits him.

How the injuries affected the fight

Montes said his knee swelled after he threw a hard calf kick into a shield during training a few weeks before the bout. He went ahead believing he had other skills to rely on if he could not kick. In the fight, though, he said he could not kick at all—a significant restriction for someone who normally kicks often. He also described fighting with abdominal damage and dislocating a thumb in the first round.

Afterward, Montes said the abdominal pain was so severe that it drew his attention away from his knee. He spent almost three weeks largely in bed and said he could not close his hands or move his abdomen normally. Tests arranged after the fight showed him the extent of the knee problem, he said. He did not claim the injuries alone determined the result; he said they also prevented him from preparing and fighting as he wanted.

Montes expects to address the knee surgically, subject to his doctor’s advice, and then work toward another fight. He said he has not yet put the loss behind him and believes a win in his next bout would help him do so. The lesson he drew was narrower than refusing to fight through ordinary pain: he does not want to fight again with an injury that stops him from using essential parts of his game.

How did Alberto Montes build Montes MMA, and who helped his career?

Alberto Montes says coaching has been part of his life since his teens. He and his brother opened a gym when he was 17, and he later bought a gym in the United States in 2019 before reopening it as Montes MMA. He also credits training partner Roy and coaches Kevin and mango with helping him through difficult periods of his fighting career.

From teenage coach to Montes MMA

Montes said he began teaching taekwondo at his coach’s academy at 14 and MMA at 17. He and his brother also had a gym in Minnesota. In the United States, Montes taught at another academy before spending about two years teaching at the location he eventually bought. He said he was there throughout the day, understood how it worked and made an offer to purchase it.

After the 2019 purchase, the gym operated under other names and closed for a period because of problems Montes did not detail. He later reopened it as Montes MMA. He enjoys passing on his knowledge, though he said he does not plan to spend his older years working as a coach.

Roy, Kevin and mango

Montes credited Roy with opening the door to a training gym and introducing him to people when he was struggling after his first loss. Kevin, a coach who has since died, paid attention to him when he arrived there and held pads for him without charging, despite Montes offering to pay. Montes said Kevin was with him for a winning comeback and that he hopes to do something in his memory.

He described mango as someone who pushes him and cares about him beyond his value as a fighter. That support has mattered on both happy days, including his UFC debut, and difficult ones, including his latest loss.

What are Alberto Montes’s UFC goals, and how did he get a Contender opportunity?

Alberto Montes wants to reach the UFC top five, then fight for a belt; he did not name a particular opponent. He says he promised his mother he would reach the UFC, but does not consider that promise the end of his ambitions. After three calls about fighting on Contender, he took an opportunity on 11 days’ notice and says staying ready made that possible.

Three calls about Contender

Montes said a ligament injury and the need for surgery stopped him from fighting after the first call. On the second occasion, he was ready and had an opponent, but said a paperwork issue prevented him from competing. The third call gave him 11 days’ notice. He accepted because he had spent years preparing to fight on short notice, not because he expected a call on a particular day.

That experience informs the advice he gives young fighters from Venezuela: keep going and trust the work, even when money is short. Montes said he has struggled to pay for food and training, and worked jobs including Uber driving and at a gas station after arriving in the United States. He wants his own UFC career to mean more than simply getting onto the roster; he wants to do something meaningful for Venezuelan fighters there.

What is Alberto Montes planning outside fighting?

Alberto Montes created a brand after his UFC debut and plans to release it, but his immediate priority is surgery, recovery and another fight. He says he has other projects in mind, yet does not want to spread his attention across so many plans that none gets finished. For now, his UFC ambitions come first.

He spent time preparing the brand before beginning another fight camp. His subsequent loss and the recovery ahead interrupted that work, though he still intends to put the brand out. He did not give it a name or announce a release date.

Montes explained why he is resisting the urge to pursue everything at once:

I don't want to do a lot of things at one moment and then finish doing nothing.

Who is Alberto Montes?

Alberto “The Promise” Montes is a Venezuelan professional MMA bantamweight with a 6-1-0 record.