2026 began with a dramatic revelation for MMA fans. Two-time UFC light heavyweight champion Alex Pereira and UFC flyweight Tracy Cortez confirmed they are in a relationship. ‘Poatan’ shared the news on his Instagram story, posting a photo of the pair in matching sweaters with the caption “New Year” written in Portuguese.

The image showed the Brazilian star holding Cortez around the waist, signaling their new romance. Tracy Cortez later echoed the announcement on her own Instagram story, sharing a photo of the two kissing. While fans were still processing the unexpected update, one individual went into panic mode after learning about the relationship.

Tracy Cortez forces Renato Moicano to fear for the future

“What’s left, my brother? There’s absolutely nothing left, man. January 1st, the first picture I see is ‘Poatan,’ brother. ‘Poatan’ and Tracy Cortez,” Renato Moicano said in a video he posted on his Instagram Story while out running. Moicano’s emotional reaction comes months before UFC 326, which is scheduled for March 7th. 

The Brazilian is set to face Brian Ortega in a high-stakes co-main event, and the recent development about Pereira and Cortez outside the Octagon added an unexpected layer of intrigue to the matchup. If you didn’t know, Ortega and Cortez began dating sometime in 2020, but their relationship came crashing down in early 2023. 

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The breakup became evident when both fighters deleted photos of each other from social media, and Cortez reverted her display name from something like ‘Tracy R. Ortega’ back to her own. So why is Moicano concerned? He believes the news of Alex Pereira’s relationship with Cortez could light a fire under Ortega ahead of their fight. 

“And then I thought, I’m screwed, man. Brian Ortega is crying in bed. This man is going to train to beat me, man,” Moicano added. Not one to be outworked, Moicano vowed to push himself even harder. “And I’m going out, and I’m going to train two more times. I’m going to run 10 km today,” he said.

Whether Cortez’s new relationship truly impacts Ortega in the way Moicano fears remains to be seen. What’s certain, however, is that this isn’t the first time the Brazilian has found himself in the headlines because of his romantic life.

Alex Pereira dumped his ex after discovering something shocking

Before his relationship with Cortez, Alex Pereira was married and even had his two sons. Although the identity of the woman is unknown, we know he was later in a relationship with Merle Christine, which ended unceremoniously.

Speaking on the Full Send MMA podcast, Pereira claimed he ended the relationship after finding out that Christine was married, prompting him to completely cut her out of his life. “It was a person I trusted. I put her in my house, together with my family,” Pereira said, adding that learning the truth led him to “delete” her from his life. 

He also asked fans to stop engaging with her altogether. Christine dismissed the allegations publicly, mocking the claims and denying that she was married. The situation escalated further when Pereira shared alleged private messages on Instagram, accusing his ex of manipulation and claiming he had evidence of her behavior.

The situation was not too dissimilar for the Ortega-Cortez split either. After fans got on his nerves following Paulo Costa’s sharing a picture with Cortez, ‘T-City’ had shared on his socials, “Everyone out here talking bout I fumbled. Y’all must not know the rules of the game. When you drop the ball on accident that’s a fumble, but when you throw it away on purpose. That’s called a complete pass.” Cortez responded, although not with the same heat and eventually things cooled off between the pair.

That being said, Renato Moicano fears a tougher fight from Brian Ortega after Alex Pereira and Tracy Cortez went public with their relationship. But do you think this will affect Ortega’s performance?