LAS VEGAS – When Michael Cora showed up to try out for “The Ultimate Fighter 26” – you know, the one that’s going to feature women’s flyweights – it seemed like a huge mistake. Then he met Dana White.
“I’m a positive person in life,” Cora told MMAjunkie.” Since I was born, I’ve dealt with a lot of hardships, and I’ve realized that in order to get through them, you’ve just got to stay positive and keep pushing and keep trucking. So in life, no matter all the ups and downs, I can be at the lowest point, and I’m still going to be positive because that’s just my nature.”
“The Ultimate Fighter 26” casting calls originally asked for male middleweights, as well as female fighter in both the strawweight and bantamweight divisions. Ultimately, the promotion elected to use the show as the debut platform of the women’s flyweight division, and the male tryouts were scrapped.
Cora, who normally competes as a welterweight but was willing to move up a division foe the opportunity, was just four days removed from a knockout win over Will Starks at Titan FC 44 and decided he wasn’t going to concern himself with the change in plans, utilizing a GoFundMe campaign to pay for his travel to Las Vegas.
The risk paid off.
Cora waited until UFC President White showed up for the tryouts, asked for a brief meeting, and earned himself a slot on UFC Fight Pass’ new “Dana White’s Tuesday Night Contender Series.”
Cora (4-1) now meets Sidney Outlaw (7-3) at “Dana White’s Contender Series: Week 2,” which takes place Tuesday at The Ultimate Fighter Gym in Las Vegas.
In the series’ debut episode, both Kurt Holobaugh and Boston Salmon earned UFC contracts. Cora believes he should be next.
“I believe that I should be in the UFC,” Cora said. “I have a style that fans love to see. I’m a knockout artist, and I believe that I can beat any welterweight in the world.”
To hear more from Cora, check out the video above.
For more on “Dana White’s Contender Series: Week 2,” check out the UFC Rumors section of the site.
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