The UFC’s first women’s flyweight champ says she’s still targeting a July return to action, but Nicco Montano admits she won’t exactly be at full strength.

“It’s never going to be fully healed because my original injury was that my tendon broke off my sesamoid bone, my sesamoid bone was fractured, and now I’m left with no cartilage,” Montano told MMAWeekly. “The sesamoid bone is healed. I’m assuming the tendon is re-attached or somewhat. I’ll never have the cartilage back and it’s arthritic, so it’s painful sometimes, but not as much as it once was.

“If I keep up with my physical therapy, it’s not going to get any worse.”

Montano (4-2 MMA, 1-0 UFC) claimed the inaugural UFC women’s flyweight title with a decision win over longtime veteran Roxanne Modafferi in the tournament final of “The Ultimate Fighter 26” this past December. Montano was injured entering the contest but fought through the pain to secure the victory.

Despite Montano’s initial indications, she ultimately elected to focus on rehab rather than surgery, telling MMAWeekly that the procedure would have left her with “very limited mobility in my foot.”

But after several months away from training, Montano admits she’s in the middle of an uphill climb to get herself back into fighting shape and is currently considering stem cell injections or platelet-rich plasma treatments to aid in her recovery.

Meanwhile, former women’s bantamweight title challenger and current top 125-pound contender Valentina Shevchenko (15-3 MMA, 4-2 UFC) is waiting for her crack at the title, and Montano is well aware that fight is next. And while she remains hopeful for a July return – and perhaps a rumored spot at UFC on FOX 30 – Montano sounds anything but certain.

“I’ve got to take my battles one step at a time and, right now, it’s my foot healing,” Montano told MMAWeekly. “So when I say I want to fight in July, that’s absolutely when I want to fight next.

“I love to fight, that’s what I do or obviously I’d be doing something different. But I want to say July for sure.”

For more on the UFC’s upcoming schedule, including UFC on FOX 30, check out the UFC Rumors section of the site.