UFC 274: Tracy Cortez triumphs in her return to action at her hometown with boyfriend Brian Ortega in her corner
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Tracy Cortez gained a unanimous decision victory after a 13-month lay-off
Tracy Cortez made her first appearance on UFC PPV card and what’s even better she did it in front of her hometown crowd. After a long 13 month layoff due to an injury that forced her to pull out of her bout against JJ Aldrich on the undercard of UFC on ESPN 30. This was her first fight with boyfriend Brian Ortega in her corner and she could not have asked for a more picturesque finish as she secured a unanimous decision victory over Mellissa Gatto.
Tracy Cortez struck up a relationship with fellow UFC fighter Brian Ortega somewhere around mid-2021 had been training alongside the featherweight before his bout against Alexander Volkanowski. The pair also have hinted that they are already engaged, via a photo that Tracy shared before Ortega’s title bout against Volkanowski where a ring can be seen on her finger. UFC analyst Laura Sanko was quick to point that out, to which Tracy replied saying, “I said yes!”
Related: Who is Brian Ortega’s Girlfriend: Is the UFC Featherweight fighter dating anyone?
Tracy Cortez dominates Melissa Gato to win a unanimous Decision
The bout against Gatto saw Tracy maintain top control for the most part. She did get caught up in few submission attempts by Gatto, ones she was able to easily escape and walk out of danger’s path. Cortez landed 70 of her 102 Strike attempts compared to 49 of 95 from Gatto. Tracy secured 2/3 takedown attempts while Mellisa had 3/6 attempts. Both had one submission attempt unofficially. Cortez won the decision with a 29-28 scorecard from all three judges.
Tracy Cortez was very eager to fight in her hometown and told the broadcast team that she had been pleading for a spot at the event. She got her wish and was granted the penultimate fight at the Early Prelims for UFC 274. The 28-year-old is now on a 10 fight win streak with her only loss coming in her pro debut. Cortez earlier tried a move up to bantamweight, in which she was successful with her outing against Vanessa Melo, however now she seems to be back and committed to flyweight.
The reception for Cortez in her hometown was as good or even better than she could have imagined and immediately after the fight she embraced Brian Ortega over the cage.
Also Read: Alexander Volkanovski analyses his escape from Brian Ortega’s guillotine choke at UFC 266
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Jerin Mathew
(713 Articles Published)