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Waldo Cortes-Acosta

Waldo Cortes-Acosta (born October 3, 1991) is a Dominican professional mixed martial artist and professional boxer. He currently competes in the Heavyweight division of the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC). A professional since 2018, Cortes-Acosta earned his UFC contract on Dana White's Contender Series, winning by first round TKO. As of March 10, 2026, he is #4 in the UFC Heavyweight rankings. He also competed in the LFA, where he was the heavyweight champion.

Background

Cortes-Acosta is originally from Barahona and came to the United States playing baseball. He had previously started playing baseball in his country and became a professional. He began practicing boxing and mixed martial arts at the age of 24.

Mixed martial arts career

Early career

Cortes-Acosta trained at the Tristar Gym alongside Georges St-Pierre and started off with two victories in professional MMA.

Cortes-Acosta faced Muhammed DeReese on November 12, 2021 at Bellator 271. He won the bout by unanimous decision.

In his last bout before DWCS, Cortes-Acosta faced Thomas Petersen for the LFA Heavyweight Championship on April 15, 2022, at . He won the bout by TKO in the third round.

Dana White's Contender Series

On August 2, 2022, Cortes-Acosta faced Danilo Suzart for a UFC contract a Week 2 of Season 6 of Dana White's Contender Series on August 2, 2022. He won the fight via first round TKO and was awarded a contract by Dana White.

Ultimate Fighting Championship

After earning his contract, Cortes-Acosta made his UFC debut at UFC Fight Night 213 against Jared Vanderaa on October 29, 2022. He won the fight via unanimous decision.

Cortes-Acosta faced Chase Sherman on November 19, 2022, at UFC Fight Night 215. He won the fight via unanimous decision.

Cortes-Acosta faced Marcos Rogério de Lima on April 29, 2023, at UFC on ESPN 45. He lost the fight via unanimous decision.

Cortes-Acosta faced Łukasz Brzeski on August 26, 2023 at UFC Fight Night 225. He won the fight via KO in the first round.

Cortes-Acosta faced Andrei Arlovski on January 13, 2024 at UFC Fight Night 234. He won the bout by unanimous decision.

Cortes-Acosta faced Robelis Despaigne on May 11, 2024, at UFC on ESPN 56. He won the fight by unanimous decision.

Cortes-Acosta was scheduled to face Chris Barnett on October 12, 2024, at UFC Fight Night 244. However, Cortes-Acosta withdrew from the fight for unknown reasons and was replaced by Junior Tafa.

Cortes-Acosta faced former LFA Light Heavyweight Champion Ryan Spann on March 15, 2025, at UFC Fight Night 254. He won the fight by knockout in the second round.

Cortes-Acosta faced Serghei Spivac on June 7, 2025 at UFC 316, replacing an injured Shamil Gaziev. He won the fight by unanimous decision. 10 out of 13 media outlets scored the bout for Spivac.

Cortes-Acosta faced former interim UFC Heavyweight Championship challenger Sergei Pavlovich on August 23, 2025 at UFC Fight Night 257. He lost the fight by unanimous decision.

Cortes-Acosta faced Ante Delija on November 1, 2025, at UFC Fight Night 263. In the first round, the fight was briefly halted due to an eye poke, initially resulting in a mistaken technical knockout win for Delija. After video review, the bout resumed, and Cortes-Acosta won shortly after by knockout. This fight earned him his first Performance of the Night award.

Replacing Serghei Spivac on two days' notice, Cortes-Acosta faced Shamil Gaziev on November 22, 2025, at UFC Fight Night 265. He won the fight by knockout in the first round. This fight earned him another Performance of the Night award.

Cortes-Acosta faced former UFC Heavyweight Championship challenger Derrick Lewis on January 24, 2026 at UFC 324. He won the fight via technical knockout in round two.

Cortes-Acosta is scheduled to face Alexander Volkov on May 9, 2026 at UFC 328.

Championships and accomplishments

Mixed martial arts record

|- |Win |align=center|17–2 |Derrick Lewis | TKO (punches) |UFC 324 | |align=center|2 |align=center|3:14 |Las Vegas, Nevada, United States | |- |Win |align=center|16–2 |Shamil Gaziev | KO (punches) | | |align=center|1 |align=center|1:22 |Al Rayyan, Qatar | |- |Win |align=center|15–2 |Ante Delija | KO (punches) | |no| |align=center|1 |align=center|3:59 |Las Vegas, Nevada, United States | |- |Loss |align=center|14–2 |Sergei Pavlovich |Decision (unanimous) | | |align=center|3 |align=center|5:00 |Shanghai, China | |- |Win |align=center|14–1 |Serghei Spivac |Decision (unanimous) |UFC 316 | |align=center|3 |align=center|5:00 |Newark, New Jersey, United States | |- |Win |align=center|13–1 |Ryan Spann |KO (punches) | | |align=center|2 |align=center|4:48 |Las Vegas, Nevada, United States | |- |Win |align=center|12–1 |Robelis Despaigne |Decision (unanimous) | | |align=center|3 |align=center|5:00 |St. Louis, Missouri, United States | |- |Win |align=center|11–1 |Andrei Arlovski |Decision (unanimous) | | |align=center|3 |align=center|5:00 |Las Vegas, Nevada, United States | |- |Win |align=center|10–1 |Łukasz Brzeski |KO (punches) | | |align=center|1 |align=center|3:01 |Kallang, Singapore | |- |Loss |align=center|9–1 |Marcos Rogério de Lima |Decision (unanimous) | | |align=center|3 |align=center|5:00 |Las Vegas, Nevada, United States | |- |Win |align=center|9–0 |Chase Sherman |Decision (unanimous) | | |align=center|3 |align=center|5:00 |Las Vegas, Nevada, United States | |- |Win |align=center|8–0 |Jared Vanderaa |Decision (unanimous) | | |align=center|3 |align=center|5:00 |Las Vegas, Nevada, United States | |- |Win |align=center|7–0 |Danilo Suzart |TKO (punches) |Dana White's Contender Series 48 | |align=center|1 |align=center|3:40 |Las Vegas, Nevada, United States | |- |Win |align=center|6–0 |Thomas Petersen |TKO (punches) | | |align=center|3 |align=center|4:53 |Prior Lake, Minnesota, United States | |- |Win |align=center|5–0 |Derrick Weaver |TKO (punches) | | |align=center|2 |align=center|0:22 |Phoenix, Arizona, United States | |- |Win |align=center|4–0 |Muhammed DeReese |Decision (unanimous) |Bellator 271 | |align=center|3 |align=center|5:00 |Hollywood, Florida, United States | |- |Win |align=center|3–0 |Jordan Powell |Decision (unanimous) | | |align=center|3 |align=center|5:00 |Phoenix, Arizona, United States | |- |Win |align=center|2–0 |Edison Lopes |Submission (kimura) | | |align=center|1 |align=center|3:12 |Phoenix, Arizona, United States | |- |Win |align=center|1–0 |Odell Pantin |KO (punch) |Iron Boy MMA 11 | |align=center|2 |align=center|1:23 |Phoenix, Arizona, United States |

Professional boxing record

See also

References

External links