Miranda Maverick has a theory why Tracy Cortez has stayed in the UFC rankings despite not fighting more than once a year since 2019.
[autotag]Miranda Maverick[/autotag] intends to prove she’s more worthy of a place in the UFC women’s flyweight rankings than [autotag]Tracy Cortez[/autotag] when the pair meet this summer.
Maverick (13-5 MMA, 6-3 UFC) is currently sitting outside the top 15 at 125 pounds in the UFC’s official rankings, with Cortez (11-1 MMA, 5-0 UFC) holding the No. 11 spot going into UFC Fight Night on July 20 at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas.
On paper, it’s difficult for Maverick to grasp the gap in positioning. Maverick has won four of her past five fights dating back to March 2022, whereas Cortez has fought just twice in that same stretch. Cortez may be unbeaten in the octagon, but she hasn’t competed more than once in a calendar year since 2019.
Maverick knows there’s much more to the fight game than solely comparing resumes, though, and she thinks that’s why Cortez is in her current position.
“I think politics have a lot to do with fighting,” Maverick told MMA Junkie Radio. “She’s that pretty girl on Instagram and everything else. And I think that’s the reason she’s still ranked to begin with. She’s a very inactive fighter, hasn’t really fought anyone ranked, and she’s still been ranked for a long period of time now. I wouldn’t doubt if I fight her, she still remains in the top 12 and I get bumped to No. 13 or No. 12 myself.”
Despite her thoughts on Cortez, there’s no denying this is a rewarding matchup for Maverick. She’s getting the chance to fight upward and build more notoriety against an opponent with a solid fanbase and following.
At 26, Maverick is confident her skillset is still rounding into form and all of her best days are still to come. She takes the sport very seriously and said she’s making daily sacrifices to eventually complete her UFC championship mission, and Maverick hopes this fight serves as a crucial step in her career trajectory.
“I think my stakes are kind of getting up in that top 10,” Maverick said. “Hopefully within the next two years I can become one of those (title) contenders.”
Rising UFC women’s flyweight contenders Tracy Cortez and Miranda Maverick will collide in July.
Rising flyweights [autotag]Tracy Cortez[/autotag] and [autotag]Miranda Maverick[/autotag] will throw down this summer.
At a UFC Fight Night on July 20, Cortez (11-1 MMA, 5-0 UFC) and Maverick (13-5 MMA, 6-3 UFC) will meet in a three-round bout. The event will take place at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas.
Two people with knowledge of the matchup recently informed MMA Junkie of the booking after Maverick announced the news on Instagram late Monday night.
Cortez, 30, has won 11 consecutive fights since a loss in her professional debut. Her UFC wins to date include Vanessa Melo, Stephanie Egger, Justine Kish, Melissa Gatto, and most recently Jasmine Jasudavicius.
Maverick, 26, has won four of her most recent five outings. She’s coming off back-to-back victories over Priscila Cachoeira and Andrea Lee. Maverick’s three UFC losses have come against Erin Blanchfield, Maycee Barber, and Jasmine Jasudavicius.
Dana White wants to make Noche UFC an annual tradition, and it’s easy to see why after the success of the inaugural Mexican showcase event.
Noche UFC is here to say. The fight card celebrating Mexican Independence will now be an annual event, according to UFC CEO [autotag]Dana White[/autotag].
In the main event of this past Saturday’s card, Mexico’s [autotag]Alexa Grasso[/autotag] retained her UFC women’s flyweight title after fighting former champion [autotag]Valentina Shevchenko[/autotag] to a split draw in a rematch that was one of the best female title fights in UFC history.
Many other Mexican and Mexican-American talents shinned that night, as [autotag]Raul Rosas Jr.[/autotag] bounced back from his first defeat, [autotag]Tracy Cortez[/autotag] made a successful return after a year-plus layoff, and highly touted prospects [autotag]Loopy Godinez[/autotag] and [autotag]Daniel Zellhuber[/autotag] impressed many with their submission wins.
I was present all week long to cover the historical event. And with the inaugural Noche UFC event now in the books, I’m taking some time to reflect on the execution of celebrating Mexican Independence Day with a themed card.
Below is the good and the bad from fight week, along with an overall grade of Noche UFC:
The Good
Sep 16, 2023; Las Vegas, Nevada, USA; Alexa Grasso (red gloves) and Valentina Shevchenko (blue gloves) react after the fight during UFC Fight Night at T-Mobile Arena. Mandatory Credit: Stephen R. Sylvanie-USA TODAY Sports
UFC gold: Noche UFC might’ve felt like a pay-per-view in the end, but it was a Fight Night. Part of that was mainly due to the championship rematch between Grasso and Shevchenko in the main event, which turned out to be excellent from start to finish.
Usually, at least in this latest era of the promotion, championship fights are reserved for pay-per-view events given their importance and pull from the fan base. However, Noche UFC was given a championship fight, and more importantly, the championship fight.
Sep 16, 2023; Las Vegas, Nevada, USA; Daniel Zellhuber (red gloves) prepares to fight Christos Giagos (not pictured) during UFC Fight Night at T-Mobile Arena. Mandatory Credit: Stephen R. Sylvanie-USA TODAY Sports
Mexican presence: Grasso vs. Shevchenko was definitely the biggest piece of the puzzle. However, there needed to be more. Along with Grasso, fans got to see Mexico’s Zellhuber, Godinez, Edgar Chairez, Fernando Padilla, and Mexican-Americans Rosas, Godinez, Cortez, and Alex Reyes.
Eight out of the 11 fights involved Mexico-born fighters or fighters of Mexican descent. On a card built around Mexican Independence Day, it’s obviously crucial to showcase Mexican talent beyond the main event. UFC made sure of that.
The feel: The UFC is always the UFC – for better or worse. The promotion has done a perfect job at being consistent with their branding regardless of who is fighting, and where and when is the event. Although this has created a strong brand for the promotion, it’s also sometimes left fans wanting some fun and creativity.
Noche UFC stood out more than any event in recent memory from a product standpoint. The promotion went above and beyond to make it different, while also keeping their branding. The UFC had an entire new design on its broadcast, reflecting Mexican culture. The graphics and the music, it was all there. They would also show highlights of the Spanish-language broadcast, and they had Mexican star Brandon Moreno come in as a guest color commentator.
And in person there was also work done. The UFC debuted exclusive jerseys to celebrate Mexican Independence, which were seen plenty in the arena. The DJ at the venue played mainly Mexican music with Hispanic hits. And throughout the fight week, there were other things, as well. The UFC had a Q&A panel with Moreno, Marlon Vera and Tatiana Suarez, which was moderated by Spanish-language UFC play-by-play commentator Victor Davila in both English and Spanish. They also had a mariachi band open up the ceremonial weigh-ins.
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The Bad
Some big names missing: This one is tough to judge because it’s mainly outside the UFC’s control, sort of. Yes, there were a good amount of Mexican and Mexican-American fighters on the card, but several important names were not present.
Moreno, Rodriguez and Aldana are the biggest names to come out of Mexico, along with Grasso. Moreno and Rodriguez had tough title losses in July, making a September return unlikely, and Aldana is recovering from a foot surgery.
Also, top prospect Yazmin Jauregui recently had surgery. Kelvin Gastelum, who was originally scheduled to fight Shavkat Rakhmonov on the card, suffered an injury and had to pull out. Mexican-American Brian Ortega has also been on the sidelines recovering from injury.
But even though some names weren’t available, others were, at least not booked, that haven’t recently fought and that are uninjured, at least that we know of. Those names include Gabriel Benitez, Jesus Aguilar, Manuel Torres, Cristian Quiñonez, and Melissa Martinez among others.
The UFC had plenty of names to bolster the Mexican power of Noche UFC. A lot of it was out of their control, and some of it was. Either way, the card could have been stronger with the addition of a few Mexican names.
Location: This event was celebrating Mexican Independence, yet it was done on U.S. soil. Well, technically Las Vegas was part of Mexico for a couple of decades after its independence, but that’s a different story.
Either way, this event would’ve best been served in Mexico. After all, it’s celebrating a Mexican holiday. Now, Las Vegas is not a bad Plan B, and that’s where UFC gets a bit of a pass. It’s tradition to see Mexicans, and especially Mexican-Americans, travel to Las Vegas to celebrate Sept. 16. There are many Mexican entertainment shows for those dates. In fact, Noche UFC was sandwiched by Mexican superstar musician Antonio Silis and legendary Mexican band Maná the day before and after at the T-Mobile Arena.
Again, Las Vegas is not a bad home for Noche UFC, but Mexico is the ideal landing spot.
Joe Martinez
The ‘Official Voice of the Octagon’: I want to be very clear that this is NOT a Bruce Buffer hate section. Buffer is great, and there’s no announcer more synonymous with the UFC than him. Whenever you see Buffer and his flamboyant suits, you know it’s an important night for the promotion.
However, the man built for this job is [autotag]Joe Martinez[/autotag], who was the announcer for WEC and has been announcing UFC events since 2007. He also does a lot of boxing, most famously he announced Canelo vs. GGG in 2018 – one of the biggest fights in recent years.
Martinez is terrific at his job. He’s one of the best announcers out there, and certainly among those of Hispanic heritage. As a Mexican-American, Martinez does a great job pronouncing Hispanic names and adding that extra flavor to the cards. Martinez was a no-brainer for this one and was terribly missed.
Overall grade
Noche UFC gets a 9 out of 10. You can definitely nitpick, but overall it was a success, and the numbers are there to back it.
It was a great gesture for the UFC to finally recognize and further cater to its Mexican audience by celebrating the biggest holiday in the country. Mexico has grown its presence tremendously in the UFC, especially in 2023, and Noche UFC was a landmark event for the growth of Mexican MMA.
What was once exclusive to boxing is now being seen in MMA. The Mexican fighting culture is here to stay in the UFC.
Check out the latest USA TODAY Sports/MMA Junkie rankings, which key moves in the women’s divisions.
UFC flyweight [autotag]Tracy Cortez[/autotag] returned to action at Noche UFC for her first fight in 16 months. She defeated Jasmine Jasudavicius by unanimous decision to keep her unbeaten UFC run alive, while also extending her current winning streak to 10.
In this week’s rankings update, Cortez climbs in the women’s flyweight division from No. 14 to No. 9, right behind former title challenger Taila Santos.
Check out all the latest pound-for-pound and divisional USA TODAY Sports/MMA Junkie rankings above.
LAS VEGAS – [autotag]Tracy Cortez[/autotag] beat Jasmine Jasudavicius with a unanimous decision Saturday on the preliminary card at Noche UFC at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas.
Take a look inside the fight with Cortez, who stayed unbeaten in the UFC in her return from a 16-month layoff.
Check out all the facts from Noche UFC, which saw Alexa Grasso vs. Valentina Shevchenko join the shortlist of title bouts to end in a draw.
The inaugural Noche UFC event proved to be a massive success for the company, with the Mexican Independence Day celebration going down Saturday at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas.
Although she didn’t get the victory, Mexico’s [autotag]Alexa Grasso[/autotag] (16-3-1 MMA, 8-3-1 UFC) still left as women’s flyweight champion after she battled [autotag]Valentina Shevchenko[/autotag] (23-4-1 MMA, 12-3-1 UFC) to a split draw in their main event rematch.
It was a rare result for a title bout, and for more on the numbers, check below for MMA Junkie’s post-event facts from Noche UFC.
Noche UFC fighters took home UFC Promotional Guidelines Compliance pay, a program that continued after the UFC’s deal with Venum.
LAS VEGAS – Fighters from Saturday’s Noche UFC event took home UFC Promotional Guidelines Compliance pay totaling $185,500.
The program, a comprehensive plan that includes outfitting requirements, media obligations and other items under the fighter code of conduct, replaces the previous payments made under the UFC Athlete Outfitting Policy.
Noche UFC took place at T-Mobile Arena. The entire card streamed on ESPN+.
The full Noche UFC UFC Promotional Guidelines Compliance payouts included:
* * * *
[autotag]Alexa Grasso[/autotag]: $42,000
vs. [autotag]Valentina Shevchenko[/autotag]: $32,000
[autotag]Jack Della Maddalena[/autotag]: $6,000
def. [autotag]Kevin Holland[/autotag]: $16,000
Under the UFC Promotional Guidelines Compliance program’s payout tiers, which appropriate the money generated by Venum’s multi-year sponsorship with the UFC, fighters are paid based on their total number of UFC bouts, as well as Zuffa-era WEC fights (January 2007 and later) and Zuffa-era Strikeforce bouts (April 2261 and later). Fighters with 1-3 bouts receive $4,000 per appearance; 4-5 bouts get $4,500; 6-10 bouts get $6,000; 11-15 bouts earn $11,000; 16-20 bouts pocket $16,000; and 21 bouts and more get $21,000. Additionally, champions earn $42,000 while title challengers get $32,000.
In addition to experience-based pay, UFC fighters will receive in perpetuity royalty payments amounting to 20-30 percent of any UFC merchandise sold that bears their likeness, according to officials.
Full 2023 UFC Promotional Guidelines Compliance payouts:
Check out live play-by-play and official results from Noche UFC in Las Vegas, featuring Alexa Grasso vs. Valentina Shevchenko 2.
LAS VEGAS – Noche UFC took place Saturday at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas.
Women’s flyweight champion Alexa Grasso (16-3-1 MMA, 8-3-1 UFC) took on former champ Valentina Shevchenko (23-4-1 MMA, 12-3-1 UFC), whom she submitted earlier this year to win the title, in the main event rematch. In the co-feature, Jack Della Maddalena (16-2 MMA, 6-0 UFC) put his unbeaten UFC record on the line against Kevin Holland (25-10 MMA, 12-7 UFC) at welterweight.
Check out the best photos from Tracy Cortez’s unanimous decision win over Jasmine Jasudavicius at Noche UFC at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas.
Check out the best photos from [autotag]Tracy Cortez[/autotag]’s unanimous decision win over [autotag]Jasmine Jasudavicius[/autotag] at Noche UFC at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas. (Photos by Stephen R. Sylvanie, USA TODAY Sports; MMA Junkie; and UFC)
Check out what the Noche UFC winners and guest fighters had to say backstage at Saturday’s event.
LAS VEGAS – Noche UFC took place Saturday with 11 bouts on the lineup. We’ve got you covered with backstage winner interviews from T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas.
You can hear from all the Noche UFC winners by checking out their post-fight news conferences below.
For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for Noche UFC.
