Alex Pereira has finally explained why his relationship with fellow UFC fighter Tracy Cortez ended just nine days after going public with their relationship in January 2026. Months after their brief romance captivated the MMA world, speaking with ALF Global, the former two-division UFC champion revealed that he never wanted to talk about his personal life again, but decided to do so after receiving repeated questions about the breakup.

“I have even mentioned before that there was really no need to be asking these sorts of specific questions,” he said in his native Portuguese. “But people constantly keep asking me anyway, and I simply do not wish to talk about it anymore. It’s also about taking advantage of this channel, which is a channel the whole world will see.”

Even so, ‘Poatan’ finally did offer fight fans a rare glimpse into what actually led to the split.

“Well, all things considered, I think we mutually agreed to go our separate ways,” he explained. “I didn’t agree with some things either. Maybe she’s not ready for a serious relationship, a 100% serious one, so that’s what happened. Then I decided to leave, and that’s alright.”

However, despite the split, Alex Pereira stressed that there is no bad blood between the two.

“I wish her all the best. I hope she achieves everything she’s been working so hard for and that she fulfills all of her dreams,” he added. “I have nothing against her. I wish her all the best. No, I didn’t know. Yeah, I don’t know. quite the opposite. I sincerely wish her happiness and success in whatever she chooses to do.

“What I do know is that it didn’t work out. Each of us went our own way, and that’s it. I don’t even want to say anything else; everything’s fine. Each of us went our own way. It’s all good.”

The comments are the first time ‘Poatan’ has publicly spoken about why the relationship ended, and from how he’s spoken about it, the split appears to have been mutual and without much drama.

He and Tracy Cortez surprised fans on New Year’s when they revealed they were dating. However, just nine days later, Alex Pereira revealed on Instagram that they had mutually decided to part ways, without providing any further explanation.

“Thank you, my fans, for all the love,” Alex Pereira wrote on his Instagram back then. “I would like to communicate with you guys that even though me and Tracy shared great moments together, we decided it would be better for the both of us to go our separate ways. I wish her nothing but the best in her journey.”

During their brief relationship, Cortez was regularly seen training alongside Alex Pereira. However, it is worth noting that ‘Poatan’ isn’t the first UFC fighter Tracy Cortez dated.

The 32-year-old was in a long-term relationship with former UFC featherweight title contender Brian Ortega before dating ‘Poatan’, and was later linked to Paulo Costa after the pair sparked dating rumors with a viral selfie in 2023, though neither officially confirmed they were together.

As for Pereira, the Brazilian was previously engaged to Merle Christine. The couple parted ways in late 2023, before it turned into a public feud. In a stunning revelation, Alex Pereira later claimed he ended the relationship after learning Christine was still legally married to another man.

But rather than retaliating, Merle Christine addressed the split by stating there was no ill will between them and wished Alex Pereira success in his career.

While Alex Pereira and Christine both publicly addressed their split, Tracy Cortez’s former partner, Brian Ortega, kept relatively quiet about the end of their relationship until earlier this year.

Brian Ortega’s honest confession about his breakup with Tracy Cortez

During an appearance on Love & War With Dominick Cruz earlier this year, Brian Ortega revealed previously unknown details regarding his relationship with Tracy Cortez.

Reflecting on their time together, the former UFC featherweight title challenger revealed that he knew it wasn’t going to last just a few months in, but chose to stay because he didn’t want to face the public scrutiny that would follow with another failed relationship.

“I meet homegirl, and then I’m like, well, I can start from scratch,” he admitted. “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—– up.’

“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.”

The relationship eventually took a toll on his personal life, affecting his preparation for bouts such as the title fight against Alexander Volkanovski at UFC 266. ‘T-City’ recalled several arguments during training camp and how his family repeatedly warned him that he would never be at peace if he stayed in the relationship.

So, Brian Ortega eventually decided it was enough.

“Yeah, finally, I had enough, and I was like, ‘Yo, man, you gotta go,’” Ortega said. “I gave myself a Christmas present and just said you got to leave on Christmas.

“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.”

Looking back, ‘T-City’ confessed that ending the relationship provided him peace following what he described as a dark period in both his personal life and fighting career, adding that he had largely kept those experiences private until now.