Waldo Cortes-Acosta - News & Rumors - UFC

Held in check by veteran Cortes-Acosta lost to Alexander Volkov via unanimous decision (27-30, 28-29, 28-29) at UFC 328 on Saturday in Newark.

Impact Cortes-Acosta used his power and speed to perfection during his three-fight win streak, but he had never dealt with a fighter as tall as Volkov, and was clearly having trouble closing the distance. While he had moments of success forcing his way into the pocket, Volkov was able to circle back to the center of the cage and ensure he was never in any real danger. A good jab can take a fighter far at heavyweight, and while this was a tricky matchup for Cortes-Acosta, he will carry an ever-present threat into his bouts going forward. Cortes-Acosta fell to 17-3-0 in professional MMA due to the loss.

MAY 10 • ROTOWIRE

UFC 328 goes on without Trump, Van defends 125-pound crown, Strickland wins middleweight title

Sean Strickland regains the UFC’s 185-pound championship, defeating Khamzat Chimaev via split decision at UFC 328

MAY 10 • Associated Press

Will take on Volkov Cortes-Acosta will take on Alexander Volkov in a heavyweight bout at UFC 328 on May 9, Marcel Dorff of Eurosport.nl reports.

Impact Cortes-Acosta is coming off a win over Derrick Lewis via TKO on Jan. 24, and he's ready to step on the octagon once again in May, though the opponent will be significantly more complicated this time around. Cortes-Acosta is carrying momentum, though, as he has won three straight fights and eight of his last nine.

MARCH 7 • ROTOWIRE

Easily handles Derrick Lewis Cortes-Acosta defeated Derrick Lewis via TKO (punches) at 3:14 of Round 2 at UFC 324 on Saturday in Las Vegas.

Impact It's the most notable win of Waldo's UFC run by a mile, even if Lewis appeared to be at the end of the line this evening. Blessed with an overwhelming edge in terms of both hand and foot speed, Waldo simply kept to the outside and immediately moved out of the way whenever Lewis began to push forward. The finish came when Derrick appeared to slip to the mat and have no interest in continuing to fight. That allowed Cortes-Acosta to jump on top and unload unanswered punches until the fight was called off. Waldo has won three straight and eight of nine. He called out Curtis Blaydes in his post-fight interview with Joe Rogan.

JANUARY 25 • ROTOWIRE

Set to fight Lewis Cortes-Acosta will fight Derrick Lewis at UFC 324 on Jan. 24, Marcel Dorff of Eurosport.nl reports.

Impact Cortes-Acosta will finish with a 4-1 record in 2025, which includes two wins in the month of November. He'll now receive another brief break between events before he attempts to extend his winning streak to three versus an opponent who has fought just twice in the last two years.

NOVEMBER 28, 2025 • ROTOWIRE

Gets big win on short notice Cortes-Acosta defeated Shamil Gaziev via KO (punch) at 1:22 of Round 1 at UFC Qatar on Saturday.

Impact Cortes-Acosta jumped at the opportunity to step in late for Serghei Spivac, and the end result was his fourth win of the calendar year and a $50,000 Performance of the Night bonus. He dropped Gaziev early, and while he was able to get back to his feet once, he was clearly compromised. Another big right hand ended the proceedings for good, and referee Lukasz Bosacki did a great job jumping in to prevent any further damage. Cortes-Acosta absorbed little damage here and has already announced his intentions to fight on any of the final cards of 2025 in which an opportunity becomes available.

NOVEMBER 23, 2025 • ROTOWIRE

Filling in for Spivac Cortes-Acosta will fight Shamil Gaziev at UFC Qatar on Saturday, Nolan King of USA Today reports.

Impact The 34-year-old heavyweight will be filling in for Serghei Spivac, who was forced to withdraw from the bout for unspecified reasons. Saturday will mark Cortes-Acosta's second fight in just four weeks, and he will enter having won six of his last seven.

NOVEMBER 20, 2025 • ROTOWIRE

Waldo Cortes-Acosta reacts to wild KO after eye poke, calls out Tom Aspinall UFC Fight Night 263 winner Waldo Cortes-Acosta talks to MMA Junkie and other reporters post-fight after his first-round knockout of Ante Del...

NOVEMBER 2, 2025 • USATODAY.COM

Waldo Cortes-Acosta knocks Ante Delija out in bizarre fight at UFC Vegas 110 The UFC Vegas 110 co-main event featured a heavyweight bout between contenders Waldo Cortes-Acosta and Ante Delija.

NOVEMBER 2, 2025 • THENEWSTRIBUNE.COM

Earns stoppage in awkward finish Cortes-Acosta defeated Ante Delija via KO (punches) at 3:59 of Round 1 at UFC Fight Night on Saturday in Las Vegas.

Impact Good luck finding an ending as strange as this one. Waldo and Delija fought to even terms early on before Cortes-Acosta was pinned along the fence and found himself eating countless unanswered blows. Referee Mark Smith stepped in, seemingly signaling the end of the fight. Yet with Waldo protesting for an illegal eye poke, Smith consulted the replay and it was deemed an accidental foul led to the sequence. Cortes-Acosta was given another minute or so and agreed to continue despite being clearly hampered. He proceeded to crush Delija with a right hand right after action resumed, leading to the official end of the fight. Regardless of how it came about, it's a massive result for Waldo on the heels of his unanimous decision loss to Sergei Pavlovich in August.

NOVEMBER 2, 2025 • ROTOWIRE

To fight Ante Delija Cortes-Acosta will fight Ante Delija at UFC Vegas 110 on Nov. 1, Marcel Dorff of Eurosport.nl reports.

Impact Cortes-Acosta was riding a five-fight winning streak before running into Sergei Pavlovich in August in what was a loss via unanimous decision. However, Cortes-Acosta is still performing at an elite level for his age, though he should have his hands full with Delija who is coming off a win against Marcin Tybura.

SEPTEMBER 19, 2025 • ROTOWIRE

Doesn't do enough in Shanghai Cortes-Acosta lost to Sergei Pavlovich via unanimous decision (30-27, 29-28, 29-28) at UFC Shanghai on Saturday.

Impact Entering on a five-fight winning streak and determined to prove himself as a contender, Cortes-Acosta was by no means outclassed, but it was clear who the better fighter was Saturday. Cortes-Acosta actually got off to a good start, slightly winning the significant striking battle in Round 1 and confidently walking his opponent down. Pavlovich started to figure him out as the fight progressed, however, and by Round 3, Cortes-Acosta was on the wrong end of a more lopsided beating, though he still had enough in the tank to point at the ground when the 10-second clapper went off. Pavlovich rightfully didn't take the risk, and there was no question it was his fight when it went to the judges. Despite the setback, there's likely plenty left in the tank for the 33-year-old heavyweight, who should remain in the top-10 after Monday's rankings are published.

AUGUST 24, 2025 • ROTOWIRE

UFC Fight Night 257: Sergei Pavlovich vs. Waldo Cortes-Acosta odds, picks and predictions In a 3-round heavyweight bout on the main card, Sergei Pavlovich and Waldo Cortes-Acosta meet Saturday at UFC Fight Night 257 in Shanghai, C...

AUGUST 22, 2025 • JACKSONVILLE.COM

Booked vs. Pavlovich Cortes-Acosta will face Sergei Pavlovich in a heavyweight bout in Shanghai on Aug. 23, per Marcel Dorff of Eurosport.nl.

Impact Cortes-Acosta has stacked five straight victories in the UFC, most recently disposing of Serghei Spivac via unanimous decision on June 7. He hasn't lost since April of 2023, when Marcos Rogerio de Lima bested him. He'll now face a fighter in Pavlovich who also has seven UFC wins to his name but is coming off a victory that snapped a two-bout losing streak.

JUNE 18, 2025 • ROTOWIRE

UFC 316: Waldo Cortes-Acosta post-fight interview UFC 316 winner Waldo Cortes-Acosta spoke to MMA Junkie and reporters post-fight after his unanimous decision victory over Serghei Spivac.

JUNE 8, 2025 • USATODAY.COM

Pushes winning streak to five Cortes-Acosta defeated Serghei Spivac via unanimous decision (30-27, 29-28, 29-28) at UFC 316 on Saturday in Newark, New Jersey.

Impact Cortes-Acosta should be thanking his lucky stars that even two of the three judges thought he won this fight, let alone all of them. Waldo didn't get going until Round 2, at which point he upped the output and Spivac slowed down. The entire world seemed to think it was tied 19-19 heading into Round 3, at which point Spivac landed the bigger shots and connected on one huge takedown. None of this ended up mattering in the least because all three judges had him up 20-18 after the first 10 minutes. The 33-year-old Cortes-Acosta has won five straight dating back to August 2023, although he still doesn't feel like much of a contender in a thin heavyweight division.

JUNE 8, 2025 • ROTOWIRE

Next fight scheduled Cortes-Acosta is scheduled against fellow heavyweight Serghei Spivac at UFC 316 on June 7 in Newark, according to Marcel Dorff of Eurosport.nl.

Impact Cortes-Acosta will look to finish 2025 with multiple wins. He began the year with a TKO win over Ryan Spann. Meanwhile, Cortes-Acosta's next opponent was scheduled to fight Shamil Gazievat UFC Qatar on May 17 before the latter withdrew from said event.

APRIL 23, 2025 • ROTOWIRE

'Salsa Boy': The hilarious story behind UFC heavyweight Waldo Cortes-Acosta's nickname Here’s the origin story of Waldo Cortes-Acosta’s nickname “Salsa Boy.”

JANUARY 28, 2024 • SACBEE.COM

'Salsa Boy': The hilarious story behind UFC heavyweight Waldo Cortes-Acosta's nickname Here’s the origin story of Waldo Cortes-Acosta’s nickname “Salsa Boy.”

JANUARY 28, 2024 • KANSASCITY.COM

Waldo Cortes-Acosta thought head games might work on ex-UFC champ Andrei Arlovski Waldo Cortes-Acosta won for the second straight time after the first loss of his career.

JANUARY 16, 2024 • SUNHERALD.COM

Waldo Cortes-Acosta reflects on surreal matchup vs. former UFC champ Andrei Arlovski Waldo Cortes-Acosta finds it wild he’s fighting Andrei Arlovski in 2024.

JANUARY 12, 2024 • STAR-TELEGRAM.COM

Andrei Arlovski vs. Waldo Cortes-Acosta added to UFC Fight Night on Jan. 13 Andrei Arlovski will look to snap a two-fight losing skid in January.

SEPTEMBER 25, 2023 • NEWSOBSERVER.COM

DWCS 60 winner Thomas Petersen would love opportunity to avenge lone career loss to Waldo Cortes-Acosta Now a UFC fighter, Thomas Petersen hopes he gets to run things back with Waldo Cortes-Acosta in the octagon.

AUGUST 31, 2023 • STAR-TELEGRAM.COM

Waldo Cortes-Acosta calls for Mohammed Usman after UFC Fight Night 215, fight outside Apex Waldo Cortes-Acosta has a couple of requests for the UFC.

NOVEMBER 20, 2022 • STAR-TELEGRAM.COM

Waldo Cortes-Acosta cool with 21-day turnaround vs. Chase Sherman: 'UFC calls me, I'll be there' Two fights in three weeks? No problem for Waldo Cortes-Acosta.

NOVEMBER 19, 2022 • STAR-TELEGRAM.COM

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UFC 328 goes on without Trump, Van defends 125-pound crown, Strickland wins middleweight title