UFC Fighter Reveals Tumors Forced Year-Long UFC Absence: 'I Don’t Want To Die'

UFC flyweight Tracy Cortez opened up in an emotional interview with Ariel Helwani about the harrowing health crisis that kept her out of the Octagon for nearly a year. The 31-year-old fighter disclosed that doctors discovered three large tumors in her abdominal area during her time in Brazil, a diagnosis that left her fearing for her life.

"They found tumors in my abdominal area, three huge ones. It was really scary. It was really scary to that point I was like, f— fighting, f— everything else. I don’t wanna die," Cortez confessed on The Ariel Helwani Show.

The revelation shed some light on her prolonged absence after her July 2024 loss to Rose Namajunas.

Cortez described how the ordeal began suddenly while she was in Brazil, where she experienced alarming symptoms that escalated rapidly, recalling, "I started feeling weak. I started getting symptoms... it just happened overnight, I started feeling very ill."

The urgency of her condition forced her to fly back to the U.S. for emergency medical care, where she underwent surgeries and began her recovery process.

The tumors, whose exact nature she didn’t specify, triggered a profound emotional struggle, with Cortez admitting, "There was [fear and doubt], and that kind of crushed me... It was just a whirlwind of emotions."

The health scare was compounded by Cortez’s family history of cancer, which added to her terror. Her oldest brother, Jose, died of germ cell cancer in 2011, a loss that has long fueled her fighting spirit.

"Every time I feel tired or question anything, I think, damn, my brother fought with cancer in his heart, and he didn’t give up," she once said in an interview with ESPN.

Despite the trauma, Cortez credited her family as her main support system for helping her through the darkest moments.

“We’ve been through so much, I can’t help but feel like ‘Oh my God, I need to apologize,’ like, ‘I’m sorry I’m putting you guys through this.’ Just hearing them [say], ‘There’s nothing to apologize [for],’ that felt really good.”

In addition to her health battle, Tracy Cortez also addressed the ongoing issues affecting the Latino community in the United States, particularly in the context of the recent ICE immigration raids.

She told Helwani, "It's kind of been weighing heavily on me. I've seen everything that's been happening and it has broken my heart. I think there's a lack of empathy, and I prayed on it so much because I was so scared. I was so scared. It's such a sensitive topic... If I hadn't spoken up about it, I felt like I would have been a coward.”

During her post-fight interview, she expressed solidarity with her Mexican heritage, saying in Spanish, "I don’t know if I’m the right person to talk about this, but there are ugly things happening to 'La Raza' all around the United States. I just want to say you guys have a voice. I’m here for you, and I want to make all Mexicans proud."

As Cortez makes her way into the UFC flyweight top 10, her story of perseverance is bound to resonate with many.