Brian Ortega breaks silence on Tracy Cortez relationship

Brian Ortega says he knew his relationship with Tracy Cortez was doomed four months in but stayed anyway because he did not want people laughing at him.

The former featherweight title challenger opened up about the two-year romance on Dominick Cruz’s Love & War podcast, telling the ex-bantamweight champion he met Cortez at a vulnerable time. “I finally left all these coaches, all these relationships that I had for forever,” Ortega said, per MMA Fighting. “I started listening to myself. And then I meet homegirl, and then I’m like, well, I can start from scratch.”

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Family warned Ortega against Cortez

Ortega said his mother and family distanced themselves once the relationship began. “My mom was like, ‘The worst thing that can happen to a mom is to see her son with someone like that,” he recalled. “She goes, ‘Who that girl is? Can she change? I hope she does, but who she is now, you’ll never be at peace.'” He said training camps became a nightmare, including the lead-up to his title fight with Alexander Volkanovski at UFC 266 in September 2021. “Arguing, or the dumb nonsense at like three, four in the morning,” he said, per MMA Mania.

The pair appeared to be engaged before Ortega ended things around Christmas. He said Cortez refused to leave his home at first. MMA Fighting contacted Cortez for comment but had not heard back by publication. Cortez was briefly linked with two-division champion Alex Pereira this past holiday season before that relationship ended abruptly.

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Ortega last fought in August 2025, losing a catchweight bout to Aljamain Sterling in Shanghai. Cortez is 2-1 since the breakup and most recently beat Melissa Gatto in Phoenix at UFC 274 in May 2022 while the couple were still together.

Photo by Rylan Hill on Unsplash

Original reporting:

• mmafighting.com — ‘Damn, I f*cked up’: Brian Ortega breaks silence on past relationship with Tracy Cortez | MMA Fighting
• mmamania.com — Brian Ortega breaks silence on toxic Tracy Cortez relationship: ’I was never at peace’ | MMA Mania