Ultimate Fighting Championship fighter Renato
“Money” Moicano is not afraid to throw daggers.
Over the holiday with a lull in most MMA outside of Oktagon MMA and the yearly
Rizin Fighting Federation New Year’s Eve spectacle, the MMA
community was surprised when athletes Alex
Pereira and Tracy
Cortez announced their new relationship. Posted on a
since-removed Instagram Stories segment on Cortez’ page, the two
shared a photograph of them kissing while holding sparklers.
Fans were quick to tag and prod Cortez’ ex-boyfriend, Brian
Ortega, even though the two split in 2023. The sheer volume of
messages and tags were too much for “T-City” to ignore, so he
decided to weigh in on his ex with another man while taking the
high road.
“I see you guys hitting me up trying to get a rise out of me (y’all
creative I give you that),” Ortega wrote on his own Instagram Stories on Friday morning. “Listen up, I’m
beyond happy and been happy. It ain’t my style to talk about
others’ personal life and choices nor is it my business. My
business is my family and my career, 2026 and every year after will
always be about them.”
’Moicano,’ Ever the Antagonist
Standing out among the veritable sea of posts and comments
regarding Pereira and Cortez, Moicano made sure to get a word in.
He and Ortega first shared the cage in 2017, where “T-City” handed
the Brazilian his first career defeat with a comeback submission.
Ever since that loss, Moicano has been looking to run it back with
Ortega, and he will get his wish in March as part of UFC 326.
While out on a run in the early hours of 2026, the Brazilian
recorded a short video riffing on the blossoming relationship.
“I woke up early today, the first of the year, thinking about
taking one day off,” the submission specialist remarked, “but then
I saw ‘The Indian’ [Pereira] with Tracy Cortez on New Year’s Eve.
Everybody made fun of Ortega crying on his bed. Not me. I’m going
to train twice more because ‘The Bull’ must be really angry,
training a lot. So, for my own safety, I decided to take a 10km
run.”
Only having fought six time since 2019, Ortega’s initially meteoric
rise hit a number of speed bumps along the way. Whether due to
injuries keeping him on the shelf or by facing foes that bested
him, Ortega has dropped four of five with his lone victory revenge
against Yair
Rodriguez in 2024. Having lost two in a row while also
struggling to reach the 145-pound mark, the California native is
officially relocating to lightweight to face “Money” at the
T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas on March 7.