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UFC women’s flyweight Tracy Cortez (11-1) is gearing up for the biggest fight of her career. She will headline UFC on ESPN 59 against former two-time strawweight champion Rose Namajunas. Cortez has set her sights on goals that go beyond just defeating Namajunas.
Throughout the history of women’s MMA, there have been pioneers like Tara LaRosa, Shelby Walker, Gina Carano, and Miesha Tate who paved the way for the sport’s growth. Ronda Rousey then took women’s MMA to mainstream success by becoming the inaugural UFC women’s bantamweight champion in 2012. Cortez aims to achieve even greater heights than Rousey did.
“Everyone is waiting for the next Ronda, the next Joanna [Jędrzejczyk], someone incredible like Weili Zhang to prove themselves and stay on top. Someone like Rose, or even myself now that I’m here,” Cortez expressed during an appearance on The MMA Hour.
“I’m very thankful for the path that Ronda paved for women’s MMA. No one has done it like she did. I say this with humility, I hope to surpass that,” Cortez added.
Ranked 11th in the women’s flyweight division, Cortez will face Namajunas who is ranked sixth at Ball Arena in Denver, Colorado. This will be Cortez’s first UFC main event, and she embraces the pressure to perform.
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“I thrive under pressure. I’ve always been judged, overlooked, simply seen as a pretty face. But here I am now. My record speaks for itself, and I thrive on pressure. I love it. I genuinely enjoy the pressure. I feel like I perform better under it. I fully embrace it,” Cortez stated.
A victory over Namajunas would place Cortez in contender status, but her goal is to be more than a contender; she aims to be the best.
“I see myself as the best. I look back at my fights against these killer opponents, and I realize that I have the ability to be the best. I have what it takes,” Cortez emphasized. “I have been training for this. I have been preparing for this moment.”
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