Tracy Cortez left it all in the octagon on Saturday night as she suffered her first loss in the UFC after 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, who has now won two straight fights at fyweight.
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 and 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 a tougher struggle 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, who actually chopped off about six-inches of her hair to make weight on Friday, also admitted that because she was fighting in a main event in the UFC for the first time and doing it on short notice that she wanted to make sure she had enough in reserve for all five rounds.
Looking back, that led to a slower start than what she wanted and that 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], I was really trying to pace myself the first and second round,” Cortez said. “I just realized, this is give it all I have. It’s all or nothing. I think I waited a little too long to really push it on her.”
In the end, Cortez lost a unanimous decision on the scorecards, but she gained a lot of valuable experience and knowledge that she’ll undoubtedly carry forward in her career.
She expects the setback to be temporary with hopes that the UFC will find her another fight sooner rather than later so she can wash the bad taste of defeat from her mouth.
“I want to get right back in there,” Cortez said. “The last time I fought I went on a killer streak. I want to prove myself again. I’m not here to prove to the world, I’m here to prove myself.”
