UFC Fight Night Tampa likely loses main card fight

The UFC Tampa card scheduled for December 14th was finalized on the afternoon of November 5th.

Later that evening, news broke of Tracy Cortez withdrawing from her fight against Miranda Maverick.

The fight order wasn’t confirmed yet, but based on the other fights on the card, it looked like a fight that was destined to end up on the main card.

MMA Junkie’s Nolan King first had the news about Cortez and there was no word on whether Maverick will get a replacement. This is now the second time a fight between Cortez and Maverick has been ruined.

Cortez was scheduled to face Maverick in July, but the former was rebooked due to a fight with Rose Namajunas that had taken place a week earlier.

Cortez has now pulled out of fights three times since 2021 and has missed weight once in that span. She is currently ranked No. 12 in the UFC women’s flyweight rankings, and UFC Edmonton standout Jasmine Jasudavicius is hot on her heels following the release of the latest rankings.

Here’s a look at the updated fight lineup with Cortez from her fight with Maverick.

• Ian Machado Garry vs Joaquin Buckley
• Amanda Ribas vs. Mackenzie Dern
• Cub Swanson vs. Billy Quarantillo
• ??? against Miranda Maverick
• Michael Johnson vs. Ottman Azaitar
• Manel Kape vs Bruno Gustavo da Silva
• Joel Alvarez vs. Drakkar Klose
• Vitor Petrino vs. Dustin Jacoby
• Daniel Marcos vs. Adrian Yanez
• Davey Grant vs. Ramon Taveras
• Josefine Lindgren Knutsson vs. Piera Rodriguez
• Navajo Stirling vs. Tuco Tokkos
• Sean Woodson vs. Fernando Padilla

Maverick is on the move.

The 27-year-old is on a three-fight winning streak and appears to be on the verge of breaking into the rankings. She obviously has a problem competing with an opponent who could offer her an opportunity for advancement.

Since this is the second time Maverick has lost a fight, it wouldn’t be a surprise if the UFC were looking for a replacement for Cortez. Maverick would probably prefer the fight to be against a high-level opponent like Cortez, but that may not be possible.

An obvious option if she’s healthy, available and able to put on weight is Casey O’Neill. They are currently ranked 15th in the division. Despite being lower than Cortez, the fight would allow Maverick to move up the rankings.

Unfortunately for O’Neill, that would theoretically be at her expense. O’Neill is coming off a win over Luana Santos in August, so it wouldn’t be crazy to see her step back into the Octagon four months later.

Unlike O’Neill, Maverick could once again be forced to wait for Cortez or potentially fight in a lower-stakes fight against another unranked opponent.

Thankfully, the intriguing welterweight main event is still intact. The fight between Ian Machado Garry and Joaquin Buckley could give the winner a chance at the title. The winner of the UFC Tampa main event could legitimately be just one win away from fighting for gold.

As long as this fight remains okay, there is still a good reason to watch at least one of the fights from Tampa.