Maycee Barber withdraws from UFC Denver fight against Rose Namajunas, Tracy Cortez expected to step in as replacement
Tracy Cortez is expected to step in on short notice as a replacement for Maycee Barber against Rose Namajunas at UFC Denver. The five-round bout is set to take place on July 13 at the Ball Arena in Denver, Colorado. This will mark the promotion's return to Denver for the first time since 2018.
Barber pulled out of the fight and the reason behind it has not yet been made public. However, the bout still remains the main event of UFC Fight Night in Denver.
MMA Fighting initially received confirmation of the news on Tuesday from multiple sources who are aware of the promotion's plans. They have requested to stay anonymous because there hasn't been an official announcement from the promotion yet. MMA journalist Alex Behunin initially announced Barber's withdrawal on Twitter, writing:
''Breaking, Maycee Barber is out of her main event fight against Rose Namajunas, per sources. The promotion is hoping to keep Namajunas on the July 13th UFC card.''
While the scenario is unfortunate for Barber, it's a massive opportunity for Cortez, who was originally slated to fight Miranda Maverick on a different UFC Fight Night card on July 20. She will now compete one week sooner and have the opportunity to face the former two-time UFC women's strawweight champion.
With a perfect 5-0 record inside the octagon, which includes victories over Melissa Gatto, Justine Kish, and Jasmine Jasudavicius, Cortez is still unbeaten in her UFC career.
Meanwhile, Namajunas (13-6) ended a losing run of two fights by defeating Amanda Ribas by unanimous decision at UFC Vegas in March. 'Thug Rose' now has a 1-1 record since moving up to flyweight. She has defeated numerous former champions, including Joanna Jedrzejczyk and Jessica Andrade, as well as reigning strawweight queen Zhang Weili twice.
Tracy Cortez's MMA record so far
Tracy Cortez has an outstanding career record of 11 victories and one defeat. At a young age, Cortez started training and competing in fights for the World Fighting Federation and the Invicta Fighting Championships. She squared off against women's flyweight contender Erin Blanchfield at Invicta FC 34 back in 2019 before signing a contract with the UFC. The fight ultimately went the distance and she was declared the winner via split decision.
Cortez made her promotional debut in 2019 after winning a contract on 'Dana White's Contender Series.' She has a perfect 5-0 record in the octagon since making her debut, with her most recent victory coming at Noche UFC last year against Jasmine Jasudavicius.