Defeat can be painful, but often times, it’s a necessary hardship for growth.
Tracy Cortez, a contender in the UFC women’s flyweight division, feels she’s a testament of that and is thankful for her loss to former UFC champion Rose Namajunas in July 2024. Nearly one year later, Cortez (11-2 MMA, 5-1 UFC) makes a return this Saturday against veteran Viviane Araujo (13-6 MMA, 7-5 UFC) at UFC 317 from T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas (ESPN+ pay-per-view, ESPN, ESPN+).
Cortez, 31, didn’t enjoy losing a decision to Namajunas, but did enjoy the evolution that came with it, and she can’t wait to show it in her return.
“I was obviously bothered that I lost, but I did feel like I learned a lot from that fight,” Cortez told MMA Junkie in Spanish. “I learned a lot. I knew that I had good cardio, I’m well-conditioned, but I had never been in a five rounder. I remember telling my coaches, ‘Hey, I can fight another round.’ I had a lot more inside of me to give. So I learned a lot from that fight, and above all else, I feel like I grew. I grew a ton as a person and fighter.
“I can be very harsh on myself. I try to be positive, but it’s hard because as an athlete who’s competing, you never want to lose. I applied everything I learned from my last fight to this camp and I feel 100 percent right now.”
Cortez was undefeated in the octagon prior to Namajunas. She was also on an 11-fight winning streak dating back to a lone stumble in her 2017 professional debut. Given her popularity, top 10 ranking in the UFC and record, Cortez doesn’t view the short-notice defeat to Namajunas as a significant setback. She said two more wins after Araujo on Saturday, and she’s in title contention.
“I honestly think that after winning this one, maybe one or two fights, I’m ready to fight for the title,” Cortez said. “There’s obviously a lot of people in front of me who already deserve the title fight, and have been competing for a long time, but all in due time. I know it’s close, it’s not that far.”
This article originally appeared on MMA Junkie: UFC 317 Tracy Cortez ‘grew a ton’ from Rose Namajunas loss