Tracy Cortez had a choice: Her hair or her paycheck?
Needing to cut a half pound ahead of her UFC flyweight battle with Rose Namajunas,the 30-year-old did not hesitate to chop off heir long brunette hair to get under the 126-pound limit on Friday.
'No hesitation,' Cortez told Sportsnet afterwards. 'I'm going to do whatever it takes.'
That did the trick,as she officially weighed in at 126 pounds on the dot Friday. Cortez then posed for the cameras,clipped hair in hand.
Cortez and her new bob will face Namajunas in the headliner Saturday night in Denver. Namajunas was originally slated to fight Maycee Barber,but Barber withdrew due to ongoing health issues.
126lbs for @TracyCortezmma ✂️
Your #UFCDenver main event is SET
[ Live on @ESPN | SATURDAY | 10pmET/7pmPT ] pic.twitter.com/aCstG2kPaX
— UFC (@ufc) July 12,2024
Opponents Rose Namajunas and Tracy Cortez face off during the UFC weigh-in in Denver
Cortez stepped in on short notice to replace Maycee Barber and will be fighting in her first main event.
Asked why it was so difficult to make weight,Cortez told Sportsnet: 'Short notice... I had to do a little extra.'
Cortez is 11-1 in her MMA career with 11 straight wins. Namajunas (12-6),though,is the favorite at -200.
A former strawweight champion,Namajunas (12-6) is seeking to climb the contender rankings in the flyweight division. The 32-year-old is coming off a unanimous decision win over Amanda Ribas in March after losing his divisional debut last fall.
While Cortez boasts an 11-fight win streak and enters as the No. 11-ranked flyweight contender,Namajunas is big step up in competition for the graduate of Dana White's Contender Series.
Namajunas has a significant edge in experience and is understandably the -200 favorite. She has been backed by 72 percent of the money wagered on the fight,while Cortez has drawn 48 percent of the total bets at +165.
The main event is scheduled to begin at 10pm ET on ESPN.
UFC Fighting
© OfficialAffairs
