UFC flyweight Tracy Cortez has opened up about the harrowing health scare that kept her out of action for nearly a year. Cortez revealed she underwent surgery to remove three large tumors from her abdominal area.
Speaking candidly on Ariel Helwani’s show following her dominant victory over Viviane Araujo at UFC 317, Cortez detailed the frightening discovery that changed everything. “They found tumors. Like in my abdominal area. And three huge ones. And it was just it was really scary,” she explained, her voice heavy with emotion.
The 31-year-old fighter first noticed symptoms while training in Brazil, where she spent over a month preparing. “I started feeling weak. I started, you know, I started getting symptoms,” Cortez recalled.
Initially dismissing the warning signs due to her high pain tolerance, she thought she had simply eaten something bad. However, the situation deteriorated rapidly.
“Surely after I want to say it just happened overnight, you know, I started feeling very ill and I was like, ‘Oh my god, I got to go back home.’ And I booked a flight back home and went straight to the ER,” she said.
The diagnosis was surprising for Cortez and her family, particularly given their history with cancer. “At that point, I was like, you know, excuse my language, but I was like, ‘F*** fighting. F*** everything else. Like my health. I don’t want to die,'” she admitted.
The emotional toll was evident as Cortez struggled to continue discussing the ordeal. Her father took time off work to care for her, staying at her house throughout the entire process. “My dad was with me every step of the way. He took time off work. He was staying with me at my house. He was taking care of me,” she shared.
After biopsies confirmed the tumors were non-cancerous, Cortez immediately underwent surgery to have all three masses removed. The relief was palpable, but the road to recovery was just beginning.
“We got the biopsies, the results, and they like, ‘Hey, non-cancerous, but we’re going to be, you know, stay on top of it.’ Uh, immediately had surgery, got them all removed,” she explained.
The mental and emotional impact was significant. Cortez admitted to going through a period of depression, wondering if she would ever fight again. “There was a lot of things where they were telling me like, ‘Hey, you might not do this and you might not be able to go through this and X, Y, and Z.’ Like, there was a lot,” she said.
Despite the uncertainty, Cortez’s determination remained strong. Just three weeks after surgery, she returned to the gym, gradually easing back into training. By January, she was desperately trying to secure a fight, even going behind her team’s back to contact her manager.
The experience has given Cortez a new perspective on life and her career. Having faced three life-threatening situations in recent years, including the tumor scare, she’s learned to prioritize what truly matters. “I kid you not, I went through almost two death experiences, you know, like life-threatening experiences,” she reflected.
Now fully recovered and back to winning ways, Cortez feels stronger than ever. “I feel great. I mean, the the best I’ve ever felt. I was, you know, the strongest I’ve ever felt,” she said after her victory at UFC 303.
With a record of 12-2, Cortez expects to step back into the Octagon before the end of the year.
