Bellator Flyweight World Champion Juliana Velasquez in Two-Piece Workout Gear is On "Fire"

UFC star Tracy Cortez has always been a force to be reckoned with in the ring, but now she’s even more focused and dedicated to the fight. Cortez, 30, shared pictures of herself wearing purple shorts and a white sports bra, lifting heavy weights at the gym. She also shared an image with the text “Welcome to my one-woman show, where you watch me do whatever I want.” Cortez overhauled her entire training and fighting regime over the last year and feels stronger than ever—here’s how she did it.

1. Training In Brazil

Cortez went to Brazil in 2023 to take her fighting to the next level. “I’ve been working on everything. Mostly I want to say just sharpening up my wrestling, keeping it sharp. My striking, I’ve been working on my striking a lot,” Cortez said during a Noche UFC Athlete Panel, via Cageside Press. “I went over to Brazil for a while, trained with the Pitbull brothers. I just grew. Got out of my comfort zone. I wanted to evolve not just as a person but as an athlete. I just felt like it was time. I’ve been really trying to evolve overall… I’m very confident in my wrestling, I’m very confident on my ground. I believe it’s pretty difficult to take me down and if you do, it’s going to be difficult to keep me down.”

2. Love For the Ring

Cortez feels a renewed love for fighting. “This year really fueled me and gave me that spark in my heart again,” she told UFC.com. “I've seen the growth not just outside the cage, but in the cage. My coaches have seen the growth, and I'm really confident in my team. I don’t believe I would be the athlete I am without them.”

3. Ready To Fight

Cortez stayed in Brazil for as long as she thought necessary. “I’ve known Patricio [Pitbull] for quite a time now. When he does come to Fight Ready, he’s such a good teacher, he’s always giving me new tools to work and to practice so I can get better,” she said during the Athlete Panel. “It kind of just hit me where I was ready to try something new, get out of my element. I shot him a message, and he told me, he said ‘come on by.’ So I went over to Brazil, stayed over there for a while, came back, told my coaches ‘hey, I’m ready to come back, now it’s time.'”

4. Celebrating Her Heritage

Cortez is thrilled to celebrate Mexican Independence Day with UFC Noche. “I don't like being emotional when I go in there, but I definitely am going to take it in when I walk out,” she told UFC.com. “I'm going to take it in. I'm going to take in all the energy, all the vibes. I'm going to feel the crowd’s energy, because Mexicans, they go hard for their fans.”

5. Big Dreams

Cortez is determined to take her fighting to the next level. “I do believe I have what it takes,” she told UFC.com. “Once they ingrained that in my brain, and I start seeing it, and I feel great, that's what happened. After having my injuries and being laid off for so long and having that itch to come back, it was like, ‘OK, I'm gonna come back, and what? Just accept a fight? No, I’m going to come back, and I’m going to make a statement.’”

Erin Blanchfield is getting ready for UFC Edmonton – in her two-piece workout gear. In a new social media post the flyweight shows off her amazing body in an exercise set while sharing her excitement for her upcoming fight, one week away. Her followers went wild over the post. “You look like you are ready for your next challenge. Time to rise and shine,” one of them commented. “Cold-Blooded. 💪🏼😏🥋,” added another, while many others commented with fire emojis. How does she approach diet, fitness, and self-care? Here is everything you need to know about her lifestyle habits.

1. A Background in Martial Arts

When Erin was just 7, she started training in jiujitsu and competing in kickboxing and grappling tournaments. “I got into martial arts when I was 7 years old,” she told The Montclarian. “My brother was training and I went in to watch him and was offered a free class. I fell in love with the training and got into competing soon after.”

2. MMA Fighters Were Her Role Models

“There were always MMA fighters at the gyms I trained at growing up,” Blanchfield continued. “I always looked up to them. Once the UFC [Ultimate Fighting Championship] opened up women’s divisions, I knew fighting MMA was what I wanted to do.” Now she trains six days a week, using her same trainers for many years. “I’ve been training with my striking coach Augie Matias since I was 15 and my jiujitsu coach Frankie Roberts since I was 16,” she said. “They both have cornered me in all my professional fights and I couldn’t thank them enough.” She owes a lot of her success to them. “They both have helped me become the fighter I currently am and are always pushing me to become the best athlete I could be.”

3. Coffee

Erin is a coffee drinker. “Cappuccino pls,” she captioned a recent Instagram photo.

4. Cycling

As part of her training, Erin cycles. Here she is in Las Vegas cycling to improve her cardiovascular fitness.

5. Focus on Improvement

Erin focuses on progress, not perfection. “I feel like, every fight, you can see my improvements, and I feel like I’m always trying to improve after each one too,” she told New York Post. “I think these past few fights, I’ve had to strike more because it’s been hard to get the takedown, so you’ve just been able to see my striking more, even if it was kind of already at that level.”

UFC Star Michelle Waterson-Gomez doesn’t need extra plates when she’s doing dips at the gym—something she makes fun of in an Instagram post. Waterson-Gomez, 38, shared a video of herself wearing black leggings and a gray t-shirt, doing an upper body workout with the text “When you got a built in weighted… 😅” written over the video. “It’s a struggle lol 😆,” she captioned the post. “Relatable 😅🫠,” a fan commented. Here’s how the MMA star trains, eats, and lives her fittest fighter life.

1. Drills, Boxing, and Tabata

Waterson-Gomez says when it comes to training, nothing is more important than drills. “I also like shadow boxing which is like fighting an imaginary opponent,” she told Women Fitness. “Shadow boxing allows you to fix your mistakes and make your movement smooth so that it becomes second nature. Doing bag work is also a good workout routine. It allows me to work on my power and footwork. One of my favorite things to do to improve my stamina are tabatas. 20 seconds high intensity, 10 seconds rest, seven times, then rest for one min in between sets. Do it three times. This is a very short but very effective way to build your explosive muscles.”

2. Training Diet

Shutterstock

Waterson-Gomez is strict with her diet when she’s training to fight. “I stay very hydrated, and eat very clean,” she told Women Fitness. “I try to stay away from processed, fried foods. Towards the end of my camp I stick to leaner meats and lots of green veggies.”

3. Fighting Beauty

Waterson-Gomez refuses to be boxed in by stereotypes of what a fighter should look like. "When I talk to people that have no idea that I fight, their first thing they say is, "Really, you fight? You don't look like a fighter,'" she told PeopleStyle. “I'm like, 'Well, what are fighters supposed to look like?' Some of us like to wear makeup, the red lips, the sexy black dress [too]."

4. Shaped by Martial Arts

Waterson-Gomez says martial arts has shaped who she is today and she couldn’t be more grateful. “It gave me a voice when I was too afraid to speak,” she told Numéro Netherlands. “It gave me the courage to take action when I was petrified with fear. There have been so many times throughout my life when Ifelt lost or stuck, and I leaned on my training as a martial artist to help guide me. Martial arts taught me to be humble, patient, persistent and driven.”

5. Love For Julie Kedzie and Holly Holm

Waterson-Gomez is inspired by and has great respect for fellow fighters Julie Kedzie and Holly Holm. “These ladies inspire me in more ways than one,” she told Women Fitness. “Outside of being amazing people, they carry the spirit of true warriors and I have learned so much from them. I have sweat, bled, cried and celebrated with these two and I would do anything for them.”

Tatiana Suarez is training hard in her workout gear. In a new social media post the UFC fighter shows off her super strong body in a two-piece set during a Sin City sweat session. “Two grappling sessions this Monday! Training to be the best every day! Let’s go 👊🏼🤼‍♀️,” she captioned the Instagram video and photo. “Champ,” commented one of her followers, while several others added fire emojis. How does she approach diet, fitness, and self-care? Here is everything you need to know about her lifestyle habits.

1. People Tried to Talk Her Out of Wrestling

Tatiana felt pressured to stay away from wrestling as a kid."I was three years old when I started wrestling, and my whole life, people told me I shouldn't," she told Women's Health. "I would wrestle with their sons, and they'd be like, 'You're so cute. You should probably go do tennis.' And I'm like, 'I think tennis is great, but I'm wrestling, and I just beat your son. So maybe he should go do a different sport, not me.'"

2. Neck Injury and Cancer Treatment

Shutterstock

In 2011 Tatiana suffered a neck injury and while being treated, doctors discovered a cancerous tumor on her thyroid. She took a day-by-day approach to recovery. "I had to keep my diet a certain way, and I had to do certain exercises for my neck every day, and they were so tedious and boring," says Tatiana. "Not only that, but I couldn't do what I love, which is to go live and do my sport." Focusing on what she could control and letting go of what she couldn't helped her get through it all. "It's always easier said than done," she says. "But it's a constant battle."

3. Proper Nutrition

She also focused on adding lean muscle while staying light enough to transition to 115 pounds (the strawweight division) when it was time to compete again. "I ate a lot of high-protein foods and healthy fats like olive oil on salad, chicken, steak, eggs, and avocado," she says. "I also incorporated fish oil, creatine for when I spar, and Thorne's Curcumin Phytosome, which helps a lot with my inflammation." She avoids sugar and processed foods.

4. Jiu Jitsu and Boxing

"I'm a great wrestler, I know I'm great at jujitsu, I'm great at kicking," Tatiana says. "So right now, I've been focusing a lot on boxing because I know that it's probably my weakest thing. It's also given me a newfound respect for boxers."

5. Training 7 Days a Week

Tatiana trains seven days a week. Her workouts include cardio, strength training, jujitsu, and physical therapy. "I can't wrestle yet. I drill it, but I can't bend my knee all the way," says Tatiana. "When I'm in [training] camp, there's not so much emphasis on cardio just because I do cardio throughout my workouts.”