By Damon Martin

When "The Ultimate Fighter" season 26 kicked off earlier this year, the 16 women contending to become the first ever UFC flyweight champion were ranked for the tournament style format.

Nicco Montano heard her name called early on during the team selections but not because Eddie Alvarez or Justin Gaethje picked her.

Instead, Montano ended up with Gaethje by default after Alvarez selected UFC veteran Lauren Murphy as the No. 3 seed and the corresponding No. 14 ranked fighter automatically went to the other team.  

Despite being a relative unknown when the show started and having a No. 14 next to her name didn't deter or intimidate Montano one bit. In fact, she knew from the first day she walked into "The Ultimate Fighter" gym that she was going to be seen as an underdog but Montano planned on proving to everybody that she belonged once she stepped into the Octagon. 

"I just didn't think in those terms," Montano told FloCombat when talking about her ranking on the show. "It's anybody's game. You can get caught with anything. It's anybody's game once you're in there, you just have to be on point."

Montano certainly got everybody's attention with a win over Murphy in the opening round but then she proceeded to do the same to No. 6 seed Montana Stewart and then taking down No. 2 seed and former Invicta FC champion Barb Honchak, handing her a loss for the first time in seven years. 

Throughout the show while other fighters were ultra confident in interviews or plotting for the finals during the first week of the season, Montano just kept quiet before storming through the competition en route to her chance to become the first ever UFC women's flyweight champion.

It's not because Montano is afraid to speak — she just picks the right time to say what needs to be said. 

"I keep quiet because I know where the business needs to be handled. It's in the cage, it's in the Octagon," Montano said. "I'll keep quiet until it's my turn to get loud. 

"When I get in that Octagon, that's when I get loud."

Not looking too far ahead seemed to be one of Montano's greatest weapons during her time on the reality show as she just stayed focused on the task at hand with whoever she was supposed to fight next.

This time, however, Montano is allowing herself to think ahead just a little bit because part of her preparation for "The Ultimate Fighter" 26 Finale main event is envisioning what it's going to feel like to have that UFC title wrapped around her waist with just one more win. 

"I do envision that moment," Montano said. "I don't take my thoughts away from what I'm trying to achieve and I don't think I'm invoking a false reality by envisioning that. This is my chance. This is my opportunity. I see that belt getting wrapped around my waist. 

"I'm thinking that it's going to be a hard dogfight match but I'm going to love it and I'm going to love that belt."