Brian Ortega finally addressed his past relationship with Tracy Cortez, and he did not soften any of it. The former UFC featherweight title challenger said he knew within months that the relationship was a bad move, but stayed in it anyway and now believes the fallout reached all the way into the camp for his UFC 266 title fight against Alexander Volkanovski.
That is the main point, and it is a serious one. Ortega is not just revisiting an old breakup. He is saying the instability in his personal life affected how he lived, slept, and prepared while chasing a world title. For a fighter whose recent run has already included the failed UFC 303 booking against Diego Lopes, it adds another hard detail to a career that has kept stalling at the worst possible moments.
On Dominick Cruz’s podcast, Ortega explained that he was already rebuilding his life when the relationship began. He had moved away from longtime coaches and other familiar relationships, so the idea of starting fresh with someone who understood the fight game seemed to make sense. He said that feeling did not last long.
Ortega said:
“Not to sound bad, right, but like I think she got lucky at the right time in my life. I finally left all these coaches, all these relationships that I had for forever, like I started [with a] brand new slate, like things, I started listening to myself. And then I meet homegirl, and then I’m like, well, I can start from scratch. I think she understands it’s the same life that I live… and everyone was feeding all that like, ‘Dude, power couple,’ and this and that, and you’re like, ‘all right, cool, let’s do it..’ And then shortly into that I was like, ‘Damn, I f*cked up.’”
He followed that by admitting he recognized the problem early, but did not leave because he did not want people seeing another failed decision up close. Ortega said:
“But then, because I already left the kids, left the family, it was like, ‘Damn, I already know if I dump her right now, everyone’s going to laugh at me.’ So it was the ego again. I was like, No, I don’t let people laugh at me. So I’m going to put up with all this craziness. … I knew four months in [it wouldn’t work]. Slowly but surely, then I found what the male did, and then what a woman does to you. And you’re like, ‘Oh, shit. It’s a different kind of game here.’”
Brian Ortega says the chaos carried into his Volkanovski title camp
That four-month line is what gives the story its weight. Ortega is saying he was not shocked late in the relationship. He is saying he saw the red flags almost immediately and still let the situation keep rolling until it started affecting the structure a top fighter needs. At featherweight, that kind of distraction can burn a contender fast.
He said his family read the situation before he did. Ortega said:
“Yeah, finally, I had enough, and I was like, ‘Yo, man, you gotta go.’ I gave myself a Christmas present and just said you got to leave on Christmas. … My mom, my family, the second they saw that I was with homegirl, they’re like, ‘Yo, we don’t no part of you.’ They’re like, ‘We’re disappointed in you.’ And at first, I was like, you’re just mad because I left. They’re like, ‘No bro, like, you f*cked up.’ My mom was like, ‘The worst thing that can happen to a mom is to see her son with someone like that, and at that time, I thought she was just being a hater, right? And then as I started living that kind of life, she was like, ‘Son, you’ll never be at peace.’ She goes, ‘Who that girl is? Can she change? I hope she does, but who she is now, you’ll never be at peace.’”
Ortega then tied the relationship directly to one of the biggest fights of his career. He said:
“And as life started happening, I was like, yeah, you’re right. I was never at peace. Training camps were horrible, like the Volkanovski fight, horrible. Arguing, or the dumb nonsense at like three, four in the morning. And I was like, bro, this girl’s like… and finally I’m like, ‘Yo, get out of here. Go back to Arizona. Leave.’ And she wouldn’t leave, and I’m like, oh damn, this is crazy, and I think this is like the first time I’m kind of like saying anything about that. I’ve kind of always kept my mouth shut, but, yeah, it just wasn’t for me.”
Ortega is saying the disorder at home made its way into a championship camp before Volkanovski beat him over five rounds. He has always had the skill set to stay relevant at 145, but too many years of layoffs, injuries, and missed momentum swings have kept him from building cleanly on that talent. He later had to explain why the UFC 303 matchup with Lopes fell apart, and this interview adds another explanation for why his career has felt stuck between big opportunities and hard resets.
Watch the full interview below:
Whether people agree with how Ortega framed the relationship is almost beside the point. His claim is straightforward. He knew the relationship was wrong early, stayed because of ego, and believes the fallout damaged his peace and his preparation during a title-fight run.
