Tracy Cortez has pushed back on the way fans talk about her dating life, saying the reaction to her public relationships has gone far beyond normal curiosity. Tracy Cortez is heading into UFC 329 with a fight booked against China’s Wang Cong, but much of the online chatter around her has centered on her personal life instead of her work in the cage. Cortez is scheduled to compete on the July 11 card in Las Vegas, where Conor McGregor returns against Max Holloway in the headline bout, putting extra attention on everyone attached to the event.
That extra attention has followed Cortez for months, especially after her past relationship with Brian Ortega and her more recent public link to Alex Pereira became talking points across MMA spaces. Reports around the New Year said Cortez and Pereira had gone public with their relationship, while Ortega was drawn into the conversation by fans flooding him with messages after the news spread.
Tracy Cortez addresses Ortega, Pereira Dating Talk
Tracy Cortez’s response, speaking to Stake, is direct. “I do a very good job of categorizing everything. People have come out with the craziest things. I mean, the memes that I’ve seen and it’s just like in reality, I’ve only been in two public relationships and I don’t even consider one too public. It was, you know, it was like a post and then a week later it was, you know, done. But it was something mutual. It wasn’t anything ugly, but it’s been two public relationships. God forbid a girl is doing good in her life, single, and wants to date!” The internet has turned a small number of public moments into a much bigger running story.
Her frustration seems to come from the way fans often expect fighters to stay inside a narrow image. Cortez addressed that with another quote that compares public perception of athletes to how people stereotype workers in other jobs. Tracy Cortez continued:
“It’s just one of those things where it’s like, well, just because a teacher acts a certain way at school doesn’t mean she’s going to be, or he is going to be, like a nerd outside of school. Or if they’re a banker, they’re going to want to count numbers all day every day. People see a fighter and they’re just like, “What are you doing out here eating at a restaurant? You should be training.” God forbid a girl has a life, you know? God forbid a girl likes to wear lip gloss. People like to put me in a box and I’m just not that. I’m many things. I’m not just a fighter. I’m expanding my career. I’m doing many other things and I don’t really care if they judge me for my appearance to be honest.”
There is context behind that reaction. Research on elite female athletes has found that women in sport often have to manage public visibility in gendered online spaces, where fans expect access while also policing how they present themselves. Coverage of women in combat sports has also long shown that fighters are judged on lifestyle and appearance in ways that sit beside, and sometimes distract from, actual performance.
For Cortez, that tension lands at a key point in her schedule. Her fight with Wang Cong at UFC 329: McGregor vs. Holloway 2 on July 11 at T-Mobile Arena. Between a veteran UFC name in Cortez and a fast-rising opponent in Wang, with Cortez at 12-3 and Wang at 9-1 entering fight week.
The event itself carries major visibility because of the main event. McGregor’s return against Holloway is being promoted as his first fight since 2021 and a rematch from their 2013 meeting, which means even undercard fighters are stepping into a bigger spotlight than usual during International Fight Week.
That makes Cortez’s comments timely. She is trying to redirect the conversation without pretending the attention does not exist. Instead of denying that fans are interested, she is drawing a line between public curiosity and the idea that every dinner, photo, or relationship update needs to become a referendum on who she is. Cortez is preparing for Wang Cong on one of the year’s biggest cards, while also making it clear that a woman in MMA does not have to live inside a fan-made script.
