For Brian Ortega, one of the most difficult periods of his career occurred during a relationship that, from the outside, looked almost perfect. ‘T-City’ spoke with UFC veteran Dominick Cruz on Cruz’s Love & War podcast about his highly-publicized past relationship with Tracy Cortez, explaining how swiftly things fell apart. What began as a fresh start amid a period of change in his life quickly evolved into something he regretted immediately.

Brian Ortega confessed that when the relationship began, he had reset everything—coaches, routines, and even personal priorities.

“That was rough. Not to sound bad or anything, but I think she got lucky at the right time in my life,” he said. “I finally left all these coaches, all these relationships I had for forever. I started brand new, a brand new slate. I started listening to myself.”

Initially, the idea of a UFC “power couple” made sense. But after a few months, ‘T-City’ realized it wasn’t what he thought it would be. The issue wasn’t just the relationship; it was why he stayed.

“Then I meet, you know, homegirl [Tracy Cortez],” he continued. “And then I was like, well, start from scratch. I think she understands the same life that I live. And everyone was feeding all that, like, ‘Dude, power couple,’ and this and that.

“You’re like, all right, cool, let’s do it. Then shortly into that, I was like, ‘Damn, I f—– up.'”

Ortega revealed that ego played a major role in keeping him tied to Cortez longer than he should have, since he had already distanced himself from his family and was making major life changes. And walking away at such a time, according to him, felt like admitting failure. So instead, he stayed—and paid the price for it.

“So I’m a put up with all this craziness,” he confessed. “Bro, I knew four months in.”

And through it all, one voice had been warning him from the beginning. And it was his mother who told him he would never be at peace while he was with Cortez.

“The people who were good influences, like my mom and my family, the second they saw that I was with homegirl, they were like, ‘Yo, we don’t want (to be) a part of it,'” he said. “They’re like, ‘We’re just disappointed in you.’ At first, I was like, ‘You’re just mad because I left.’ My mom was like, ‘The worst thing that can happen to a mom is to see her son with someone like that.’

“At that time, I thought she was just being a hater, right? And then as I started living that kind of life, she was like, ‘Son, you’ll never be at peace.’ She goes, ‘Who that girl is, like, can she change? I hope she does, but who she is now, you’ll never be at peace.'”

Despite the seriousness of the warning, Ortega admitted he brushed it off only to realize later how true they were. To make matters worse, the tussles between the two didn’t stay at home; they made it into his training camps. According to ‘T-City,’ the chaos in the relationship had a direct impact on his preparation for his featherweight title bout against Alexander Volkanovski.

“Training camps were horrible,” he said. “Like the Volkanovski fight. Horrible. Arguing or just dumb nonsense over, like, 3-4 in the morning.

“And I was like, ‘Bro, this girl is like…’ And finally, ‘Yo, get out of here. Go back to Arizona, like, leave.’ And she wouldn’t leave. And I’m like, ‘Oh damn, this is crazy.'”

Looking back on his experience now, Brian Ortega believes others are starting to understand what he experienced firsthand.

Brian Ortega believes Alex Pereira faced the same issues during his time together with Tracy Cortez

That realization didn’t just stay in the past for ‘T-City’—it shaped how he now looks at everything that followed, including Tracy Cortez’s brief relationship with Alex Pereira. From his perspective, what he went through wasn’t unique. It was simply something that others hadn’t yet experienced.

“It just wasn’t for me,” Brian Ortega said. “I think now, like guys, like even Alex Pereira, like all these people, they’re starting to realize that.

“Like, okay, I put her on a pedestal; the world’s like, ‘Oh my God.’ And then now they’re realizing who she is. I was like, I never mind.”

For Brian Ortega, the idea of a “perfect pairing” may seem appealing from the outside, but as he explained, reality tends to catch up pretty soon. What seemed to be a power dynamic destined for fame can quickly turn into something considerably more problematic.

For ‘T-City,’ witnessing others go through similar experiences simply validates what he learned the hard way.