Phoenix’s Tracy Cortez faces Rose Namajunas

Tracy Cortez of Phoenix gets her first chance to be part of a UFC main event on Saturday, and on top of that, she’ll appear on ESPN live from Denver’s Ball Arena in her lightweight bout against Rose Namajunas.

Cortez, 30, is undefeated in five UFC bouts and 11-1 overall. A short-notice fill-in opponent for Namajunas, who has been a UFC strawweight champion, she went from working her way up the flyweight division and just three fights in 26 months to the biggest opportunity of her career on Saturday night.

“It took me some time with not being able to be as active as I would like. But I’m beyond grateful to be here,” Cortez told The Arizona Republic this week. “More than anything I’m feeling ready.”

Fighting is in Cortez’s blood. Her older brother Reyes is a professional mixed martial arts fighter, and another brother, the late José Cortez, was working toward his dream of being in UFC when he was diagnosed with germ cell cancer. He lost his battle with the disease, and Tracy has further dedicated herself to an MMA career ever since.

“I started fighting because of him,” Tracy said of her brother. “Being here, not only is it a dream come true but it’s something that I worked for to keep his memory alive. Come Saturday night I hope to not just fulfill his dream but to make him proud and get a victory.”

Cortez earned a UFC contract in 2019 after a win in UFC President Dana White’s Contender Series in Las Vegas. A few years later, she had her first UFC bout in her hometown and impressed in a unanimous decision win at UFC 274 at Footprint Center.

She’s dealt with several injuries which have kept her from fighting more regularly, and has taken criticism on social media for sharing her stories of overcoming adversity. She arrived at the weigh-in for Saturday’s fight a half-pound over the 126-pound limit, then returned to the scale a short time later with tears in her eyes having cut her long hair to successfully make weight.

But Cortez said she’s always believed in herself and knew she would be in a big fight one day.

“I just didn’t think it would be overnight. Everything is happening so fast,” she said. “All the years that I put in the work, and it just coming, which it almost feels like a snap of a finger, but the duration that it took me to get here is not only a dream come true but I busted my ass off for. Getting the win will be that cherry on top for the path to greatness.”

Cortez, whose family has been longtime friends of another westside Phoenix product who made it big in UFC, Henry Cejudo, calls herself a “proud Valley girl.”

“I love to represent Arizona, especially my home community, Maryvale,” she said. “I just hope putting AZ on the map, I know there’s quite a few athletes but I don’t see anyone really putting in the effort to show that they’re from the Valley and rep it as hard as I do.”

How to watch Tracy Cortez (11-1) vs Rose Namajunas (13-6)

UFC Fight Night from Denver airs on ESPN and ESPN+ starting with preliminary bouts at 4 p.m. Phoenix time. The main card is set for a 7 p.m. start.