Tracy Cortez was not going to miss weight, come hell or high water.
After missing weight by a half-pound on her first attempt, Cortez was left with roughly 35 minutes in the two-hour weigh-in window to make the 126-pound non-title limit for her flyweight headliner against Rose Namajunas at UFC Denver. Approximately 20 minutes later, an emotional Cortez reemerged at 126 pounds with an impromptu haircut and a thick hunk of hair in her right hand, having lopped off the half-pound of hair to make weight.
Namajunas, a two-time former UFC strawweight champion, was first to the scales and weighed in at 124.75 pounds.
126lbs for @TracyCortezmma ✂️
— UFC (@ufc) July 12, 2024
Your #UFCDenver main event is SET
[ Live on @ESPN | SATURDAY | 10pmET/7pmPT ] pic.twitter.com/aCstG2kPaX
UFC Denver takes place July 13 at Ball Arena in Denver. Namajunas and Cortez face off in a five-round flyweight main event after Namajunas’ original opponent Maycee Barber withdrew due to health complications.
Namajunas, 32, is 1-1 in two appearances at 125 pounds since moving up from the strawweight division. She lost her divisional debut to Manon Fiorot but rebounded to defeat Amanda Ribas in March.
Cortez, 30, is undefeated in her five-fight UFC run. She defeated Jasmine Jasudavicius in her most recent octagon appearance this past September and also holds a notable win over UFC contender Erin Blanchfield dating back in her Invicta FC days.
Welterweight co-headliners Santiago Ponzinibbio and Muslim Salikhov both weighed in at 171 pounds to successfully make weight for their three-round battle.
Complete UFC Denver weigh-in results can be seen below.
Main Card (ESPN/ESPN+ at 10 p.m. ET)
Rose Namajunas (124.75) vs. Tracy Cortez (126)*
Santiago Ponzinibbio (171) vs. Muslim Salikhov (171)
Drew Dober (155) vs. Jean Silva (155)
Gabriel Bonfim (171) vs. Ange Loosa (170)
Julian Erosa (145.5) vs. Christian Rodriguez (145.5)
Abdul Razak Alhassan (185) vs. Cody Brundage (185.5)
Preliminary Card (ESPN/ESPN+ at 7 p.m. ET)
Joshua Van (125) vs. Charles Johnson (125.5)
Jasmine Jasudavicius (125) vs. Fatima Kline (125)
Montel Jackson (135) vs. Da’Mon Blackshear (135.5)
Luana Santos (125) vs. Mariya Agapova (125)
Josh Fremd (186) vs. Andre Petroski (185.5)
Evan Elder (170) vs. Darrius Flowers (170)
*Cortez missed weigh by .5 pound on first attempt