Waldo Cortes Acosta | No Slowing Down

He turned up on Season 6 of Dana White’s Contender Series having won all six of his professional contests while claiming the LFA heavyweight title with a third-round stoppage win over Thomas Petersen. He blew through Danilo Suzart in less than a round to earn his spot on the roster, then won his first two bouts inside the Octagon before getting in over his head a little in an April 2023 matchup with Brazilian veteran Marcos Rogerio de Lima.

It was his ninth fight in two years and his first against a seasoned veteran, and like many neophytes, he stumbled. But Cortes Acosta picked himself up and got straight back to work, posting victories over Lukasz Brzeski, Andrei Arlovksi, and Robelis Despaigne to send him into 2025 on a 3-fight winning streak.

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Falling to Pavlovich but fighting was another good, teachable moment for “Salsa Boy,” who turned into a different fighter midway through his chaotic encounter with Delija at the start of November.

 With just over 90 seconds remaining the first round, the fight looked like it was stopped and the Croatian was victorious, but that wasn’t the case. Referee Mark Smith called time as Cortes Acosta covered up along the fence, protecting his left eye. Delija celebrated with his corner, but the fight had been paused, not waved off, as doctors checked on his foe.

“I’m born in the Dominican Republic. Over there, they’re warriors, and having my family here, my country watching me, I want to (bring pride) to my family, my country, all the people following me,” began Cortes Acosta, who is slated to face Derrick Lewis at UFC 324 on January 24.

“I feel every time I fight more frequently like that, I get more familiar with the (Octagon), more trust in my body, everything,” he added. “Everything is getting better when you’re fighting fast like that.”

The bout with Lewis stands as another measuring stick opportunity for the ascending heavyweight, who currently sits at No. 5 in the rankings, three places ahead of his veteran opponent.

While Cortes Acosta in higher up in the rankings, Lewis is the far more established of the two, owning 20 wins and a UFC record 16 knockouts over his dozen years competing in the Octagon. He has been and remains the dangerous, tenured foe most hopefuls need to pass in order to establish themselves as a legitimate contender.

“It means a lot for me because I remember before I started, I saw Derrick Lewis knocking out people,” he said. “Everybody around me liked him, and me being in the position to fight with him is a good opportunity for me to show up, make this fight good for everybody, and for me to knock him out.”

Dispatching Lewis to push his winning streak to three and add to the momentum he built in November feels like the kind of victory that would prompt others in that position to ease off the gas, survey the landscape, and seek out the fight that makes the most sense next, even if it meant taking a bit of a break.

But Cortes Acosta has no interest in slowing down.

“I need to be active; I don’t need to slow down,” he said. “I have people in front of me I can fight, and people behind too.

“I’m the person that people didn’t give me too much opportunity when I was behind, ranked 14 or something, but I can give opportunity to those people. I can fight and make the division better.”