Tracy Cortez will face possibly the biggest name in her UFC run so far as she will be taking on Rose Namajunas at UFC on ESPN 59 on July 13. Originally scheduled to face Miranda Maverick on July 20 at UFC on ESPN 60, Cortez was tapped in by the promotion to replace Maycee Barber as she had to withdraw from the bout due to suffering from severe health problems.

Cortez is currently undefeated in the UFC and is ranked no.11 in the women’s flyweight division. As such, a win over the no.6 ranked Namjunas has the potential to propel Cortez up the rankings and give her a significant boost toward her pursuit of the title currently held by Alexa Grasso. So, let’s take a look and explore all we know about Tracy Cortez’s martial arts background and her fighting style ahead of this crucial clash against ‘Thug Rose’!

Is Tracy Cortez a wrestler?

Tracy Cortez was born in Phoenix, Arizona, and is of Mexican descent. She began training in MMA after being inspired by her oldest brother, Jose Cortez’s fight against Drew Fickett in 2008. In a past interview with UFC.com, Cortez revealed that her love for martial arts stemmed from trying to follow her 3 brothers, Jose, J.R., and Abraham into their amateur wrestling practices.

Cortez revealed, “They would drag me out of the wrestling room, so as much as I wanted to do it, I only got to be in the sport for a short time when I was younger.” However, her brother Jose gave her a rough introduction about what it means to be a fighter as after his fight in 2008, he brought Tracy along with him to his gym and threw her in the deep end against a professional boxer!

But Tracy wouldn’t be denied as her brother’s plan seemingly backfired and she began her MMA journey to honor Jose who passed away in 2011 after a diagnosis of germ cell cancer. During her fights, Tracy Cortez is known by the fans for her relentless pressure and ability to dictate the pace of the fights on her terms. As such, her amateur wrestling background provides her with a strong foundation to build the rest of her MMA fighting style around it.

In a recent Instagram post after the announcement of her bout against Namajunas, Cortez made a post honoring Jose’s legacy as she revealed, “Before passing away, your dream was to be in the UFC.. & In your honor I worked & busted my ass to make your dream come true brother…in the midst of this crazy journey I started seeing myself becoming the best in the world, your dream became mine… July 13th I’m having the biggest fight of my career… this is for you Jose!” As Tracy Cortez steps into the Octagon on July 13, she will be carrying with her the legacy of her brother and the hopes of achieving greatness in the UFC in his honor. The fighter she will  be replacing on the card recently also came to reveal the harrowing health scare that forced her out of the main event at UFC Denver! 

Maycee Barber addresses her withdrawal from Rose Namajunas fight

Currently ranked no.4 in the women’s flyweight division and riding on a 6-fight winning streak, Maycee Barber was poised to continue her surge towards title contention with a win over ‘Thug Rose’ at UFC Denver.  However, in a recent statement released on social media, Barber revealed that she is dealing with serious ongoing health issues that prompted her to withdraw from her main event bout against Namajunas.

Barber revealed that her health took a turn for the worse after her last fight at UFC 299 in March. As such, she was hospitalized for nine days due to undiagnosed issues and developed pneumonia during her stay. Despite numerous rounds of oral and IV antibiotics, her condition did not improve as originally expected by the medical staff.

‘The Future’ also stated, “…I just couldn’t find any intensity needed to get ready for a 5-round fight let alone the first 5 minutes of a practice”. Therefore, her team, doctors, and the UFC all concluded that her, “…physical health must be attended to now so that I can make a run in the future.” It remains to be seen when Barber will be able to bounce back and continue her rise in the UFC but she indicated in her statement that she is looking forward to returning to the Octagon when she is fully healthy!