‘I am healing’ - Tracy Cortez prioritizing mental health before UFC return
Best wishes to Cortez as she works on herself.
Tracy Cortez is prioritizing herself after some struggles outside of the Octagon.
The UFC flyweight was expected to return against Amanda Ribas at UFC Orlando earlier this month, but was removed over a ‘medical issue,’ according to the promotion. Shortly after, Cortez released a statement that said she would provide an update on the ‘private matter’ that led to her removal.
In a new video shared on social media, Cortez spoke about the struggles — both physical and mental — she has faced in recent months.
“I want to be very vulnerable but I also — to a certain extent because social media knows how to tear people down,” said Cortez on Instagram Stories. “I don’t know if you guys have noticed much, but I haven’t really been too active here on socials. And that’s because I am in a stage, a season in my life where I am healing. I’m healing and I’ve been going through it on a personal level. I’ve been healing and accountability is a hard pill to swallow and a lot of people aren’t able to take accountability of their actions. You know, it’s always east to find the easy way out, excuses, you know? And I’m changing everything that I thought I was once. I’m trying to become a better person. I’m trying. Not that I was bad, but I’m trying to move intentionally, I’m trying to move purely.
“I’ve been going through it since August,” continued Cortez. “I went through my camp extremely depressed. I went through my camp, despite how my mental state was, I still gave it 110 percent. I showed up and it was hard. Everyone around me in my circle saw, and getting pulled out the way that I did, hurt me. It broke me because we give everything. We leave it all. We give everything that we possibly can and we leave it all, every ounce of us in every session. I feel like training camp really takes a toll on me, and I think every fighter to a certain level can relate, spiritually, physically, obviously mentally, it takes a toll on us. And I gave it all. I gave it all I had and not fighting has kind of left me a little lost. But I’m okay. I’m keeping myself healthy. I’m making my mental state, my state of mind, my mental health, I’m making it a priority.”
In a separate Instagram post, Cortez addressed her return to the Octagon. Though she has no answer for when she expects that to be, the 29-year-old promised to ‘be back, strong, and with a purpose far greater then [sic] I’ve ever had before.’
Cortez fought once in 2022, defeating Melissa Gatto at UFC 274 this past May.