Tracy Cortez, who accepted a short-notice fight against Rose Namajunas after her original opponent withdrew, lost by unanimous decision but gained valuable experience and is eager to return to the octagon soon.
Tracy Cortez left it all in the octagon on Saturday night. She suffered her first loss in the UFC, falling to Rose Namajunas by unanimous decision in a five-round fight.
A couple of weeks ago, Cortez was preparing for a completely different fight against Miranda Maverick at UFC Vegas 94 on July 20. But she wasted no time accepting a short-notice offer to save the UFC Denver main event after Maycee Barber was forced off the card due to health issues. Despite very little time to prepare, Cortez still managed to go all 25 minutes with a two-time strawweight champion in Namajunas. Namajunas has now won two straight fights at flyweight.
Cortez was after much more than a moral victory.
“I took it on a two-week notice unprepared and I gave it all I had,” Cortez said during the UFC post-fight show. “I know if I were to have a full camp, prepared, I mean my cardio was there, I think I would have been a lot better.
“We had a good game plan but I think I proved myself tonight that I can go five [five-minute rounds]. Looking forward to the next one.”
When the fight first started, former UFC bantamweight champion Dominick Cruz noted that Cortez was a strong wrestler. That could play a part in her game plan to negate Namajunas’ speed and skill on the feet. While she did score an early takedown, Cortez actually found herself planted on the ground several times by Namajunas during the five-round fight.
It turns out Cortez actually suffered an injury in the fight that made grappling tougher than she initially anticipated. But she offered no excuses to take away from Namajunas’ victory.
“I hurt my toe, no excuses, I know it was kind of hard for me to get up,” Cortez said. “But I was pretty upset that she took me down the way she did.”
Cortez chopped off about six inches of her hair to make weight on Friday. Fighting in a main event for the first time and doing it on short notice meant she wanted enough reserve for all five rounds.
Looking back, that led to a slower start than what she wanted. Ultimately allowed Namajunas to settle into her own rhythm, which included a knockdown in the opening round.
“I was trying because it was five [five-minute rounds],” Cortez said. “I was really trying to pace myself the first and second round.” She added: “I just realized this is give it all I have. It’s all or nothing. Think I waited too long to really push it on her.”
In the end, Cortez lost by unanimous decision but gained valuable experience and knowledge she’ll carry forward in her career.
She expects this setback to be temporary with hopes that UFC will find her another fight soon so she can wash away this defeat’s bad taste from her mouth.
“I want to get right back in there,” Cortez said. “The last time I fought, went on killer streak.” She concluded: “Want prove myself again—not here prove world—here prove myself.”