“Let’s Send Him a Picture…”: UFC Heartthrob Tracy Cortez Clears the Air Around the Viral Picture of Her and Paulo Costa

Tracy Cortez achieved a glorious victory at Noche UFC. Cortez came back to fight Jasmine Jasudavicius after staying away from the UFC octagon for more than a year. The fire inside her was evident during the bout, and she emerged victorious by unanimous decision. The 29-year-old is currently on a 10-fight winning streak, and she is proving to the world that her personal problems are not affecting her career.

When the Arizona native stayed away from fighting, she was facing a turbulent time in her personal life. She broke up with her then-fiance, Brian Ortega, and a lot of attention was shifted to them. Many blamed Cortez for the bitter end of their relationship. On the heels of this incident, a selfie of UFC middleweight Paulo Costa and Cortez circulated online. This paved the way for dating rumors between the two UFC fighters. Back then, Cortez decided not to speak about the matter, and she chose silence as her policy. Now, she has finally opened up about the matter and revealed the story behind the controversial picture.

Tracy Cortez reveals the story behind the viral photo

Tracy Cortez sat with MMA Hour’s Ariel Helwani. During the chat, Cortez revealed the story behind the viral picture of her and Costa. The UFC flyweight detailed how she went to Brazil for MMA training. There, she received the best treatment from her teammates, and she badly wanted to give them a treat. During the treat, Paulo Costa was there, and while she was serving the food, the two engaged in a brief conversation.

Cortez said, “I was serving everybody the plate and [Paulo] Costa goes, ‘Hey, I didn’t know Tiki [Ghosn managed you]. Let’s send him a picture… Two weeks later I came back to the States and Costa posted that photo. I woke up the next morning, flooded [with messages].” The UFC flyweight could not believe the attention the picture received. However, she chose not to react to it and even laughed over it. The 29-year-old further revealed how ‘Borrachinha’ and his girlfriend, Tamara Alves, reached out to her. Moreover, after the photo went viral, Cortez’s then-fiance, Brian Ortega, made a shocking comment.

Brian Ortega targeted Cortez

The relationship between Tracy Cortez and Brian Ortega ended on bad terms. After the photo of Costa and Cortez went viral, ‘T-City’ took to his social media and made some insulting comments about Cortez. He claimed that he did nothing wrong in the relationship and removed himself from it.

READ MORE: ‘Taking Life Day by Day’: Following a Tough Split With Brian Ortega and Injury Woes, UFC’s Tracy Cortez Provides Health Update

Ortega further went on to mention that he ended the relationship because she was not the right one. When Cortez came across the tweet, she wrote that she was not interested in the blame game. The UFC flyweight chose not to throw shade at Ortega. Later, Cortez also wrote that she was not ready to explain anything to anyone. Cortez indeed ignored the negativity that surrounded her and focused more on her fighting career.

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