Nicco Montaño is currently in hospital recovering from injuries sustained during a violent attack.

The former UFC flyweight champion posted disturbing details of the assault on her Instagram story.

The alleged assailant in question is Justin Watson, a regional MMA fighter from Tennessee. 

Montaño was released by the UFC in August after missing seven pounds of weight during the weigh-in ahead of her scheduled fight with Wu Yanan. The bout was cancelled and Montaño was released shortly after. 

The Arizona-born fighter has been looking to make her return to the ring, but a comeback will now surely be delayed as she recovers from her recent injuries.

In a hard-hitting Instagram story post, Montaño wrote: "Tonight Justin Watson stood on my neck and stomped my face in then kept kicking me and shoving my hair into his fist and the corner of the bed frame.

"I got away for a second to run down the hall (naked) screaming for my life as he tried to drag me back by my hair. Luckily someone from the hotel heard my screams and came to my rescue. I’m stuck in Texas, not knowing where he is and scared."

The 32-year-old confirmed she was in the hospital receiving treatment and wrote she counted herself "so lucky" that her mixed martial arts background enabled her to escape her attacker.

Montaño made her professional MMA debut in 2015 and fought in her first UFC fight two years later. She beat Roxanne Modafferi to win the inaugural UFC Women's Flyweight Championship title.

Since her release in the summer, she has admitted she is not ruling out a return to UFC, stating she would "totally fight" under the promotion company again.

"It’s not over yet and I definitely don’t see it as being over," she said. "Whatever lessons I’m learning now, I’m gonna know exactly how to avoid them or to make things better for myself in the future."