UFC women’s flyweight Tracy Cortez (11-1) enters the biggest fight of her life on Saturday as she headlines UFC on ESPN 59 against former two-time strawweight titleholder Rose Namajunas. Cortez has lofty aspirations and goals that exceed a win over Namajunas (12-6).
There have been several women pioneers in the sport: Tara LaRosa, Shelby Walker, Gina Carano, and Miesha Tate, to name just a few. They all laid the way for Ronda Rousey to put women’s MMA on the mainstream map. Rousey was crowned the inaugural UFC women’s bantamweight champion in 2012 and went on to set nearly every UFC record for women. Cortez plans to surpass Rousey’s accomplishments.
“Everyone’s waiting or the next Ronda, for the next Joanna [Jędrzejczyk]. Someone incredible like Weili [Zhang] to stay on top and prove themselves. Someone like Rose to ride that like Ronda did, or even myself now that I’m here,” Cortez said during an appearance on The MMA Hour.
“I’m very grateful for the way Ronda paved the way for women’s MMA. No one has done it like she has. I say this humbly, I hope to surpass that,” continued Cortez.
Cortez will enter the octagon on Saturday at Ball Arena in Denver, Colorado ranked 11th in the women’s flyweight division. Namajunas will make the walk to the cage ranked sixth. It will be Cortez’ first UFC main event, but she loves having pressure to perform.
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“I thrive off of pressure. I’ve always been judged and overlooked and just a pretty face. I’m here now. The record speaks for itself, and I thrive off of it. I love it. I genuinely love the pressure. I feel like I perform. I embrace it to the fullest,” Cortez said.
A win over Namajunas would put Cortez squarely in contender status, but she’s looking to be more than just a contender. She plans to be the best.
“I see myself being the best. I look back at my fights against these girls that are killers. Killers. Black bets, they can’t submit me. I’m still in disbelief. That’s me? Oh my God. It’s just one of those things where I saw myself, I was watching footage of myself and I said, ‘Man, I have the ability to be the best. I have what it takes,'” Cortez said. “I’ve been training for this. I’ve been preparing for this.”
