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Tracy Cortez recently reflected on the origins of her MMA career and disclosed that working at a UFC legend's gym is what sparked her journey in the sport. She admitted that it was a difficult period in her life and took to the sport very quickly at a young age.
Cortez is currently the No.10-ranked UFC women's flyweight, however, she didn't have a traditional start to her MMA career like her peers. Despite the Arizona native not entering the sport with years of training and experience in a particular martial art, she became a quick learner and developed into a UFC-caliber competitor.
In her latest appearance on Quinton 'Rampage' Jackson's JAXXON PODCAST, Cortez disclosed that her foray into MMA began at UFC legend Ken Shamrock's Lion's Den gym, where she worked at the front desk. The 31-year-old mentioned that she began training and developed quickly, which resulted in her eventually teaching classes while also holding down several jobs to support herself:
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"I was working at what was called at the time the Lion's Den. Yeah, Ken [Shamrock] and Scott Peters... Back in the day and I was working front desk and then I was training when I wasn't working and they're like, 'Dude, you're really fu**ing good. Do you want to teach a class?' And I was like, 'Okay'. So, I started teaching classes and then working front desk and I work in another realtor's front desk job. So I had three jobs."
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Check out Tracy Cortez's comments below:
Tracy Cortez opens up about upbringing
Tracy Cortez also disclosed that her parents were strict with her because of the area they were living in.
In the aforementioned appearance, Cortez mentioned that she was kicked out of her house due to her decisions, but that eventually led to her beginning her MMA journey. She said:
"[I got into MMA] when my dad kicked me out, so I was like 16-17. I was fu**ing up... I was [a problem child], but not because I just wanted to. We grew up in a fu**ed up neighbourhood, so they kept my brothers out of the streets by keeping them in sports. And me, again, they sheltered me, so it was like, home, school, home, school... I grew up [in a] super strict Mexican household."
Check out the full episode featuring Tracy Cortez below:
