Waldo Cortés-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 July 25, 2026, he is #7 in the Meta 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 LFA 129. He won the bout by TKO in the third round.

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 faced Alexander Volkov on May 9, 2026 at UFC 328. He lost the fight by unanimous decision.

Cortes-Acosta was scheduled to face Curtis Blaydes on September 19, 2026 at UFC 331. However, the bout was shifted to one week prior to September 12, 2026 at UFC Fight Night 288.

Championships and accomplishments Ultimate Fighting Championship Performance of the Night (Two times) Legacy Fighting Alliance LFA Heavyweight Championship (One time) MMA Fighting 2025 Fantasy League MVP 2025 #2 Ranked Breakthrough Fighter of the Year 2025 First Team MMA All-Star Uncrowned 2025 #3 Ranked Breakthrough Fighter of the Year

Mixed martial arts record Loss

Alexander Volkov Decision (unanimous) UFC 328

Newark, New Jersey, United States Win

Derrick Lewis TKO (punches) UFC 324

Las Vegas, Nevada, United States Win

Shamil Gaziev KO (punches) UFC Fight Night: Tsarukyan vs. Hooker

Al Rayyan, Qatar Win

Ante Delija KO (punches) UFC Fight Night: Garcia vs. Onama no|

Las Vegas, Nevada, United States Loss

Sergei Pavlovich Decision (unanimous) UFC Fight Night: Walker vs. Zhang

Shanghai, China Win

Serghei Spivac Decision (unanimous) UFC 316

Newark, New Jersey, United States Win

Ryan Spann KO (punches) UFC Fight Night: Vettori vs. Dolidze 2

Las Vegas, Nevada, United States Win

Robelis Despaigne Decision (unanimous) UFC on ESPN: Lewis vs. Nascimento

St. Louis, Missouri, United States Win

Andrei Arlovski Decision (unanimous) UFC Fight Night: Ankalaev vs. Walker 2

Las Vegas, Nevada, United States Win

Łukasz Brzeski KO (punches) UFC Fight Night: Holloway vs. The Korean Zombie

Kallang, Singapore Loss

Marcos Rogério de Lima Decision (unanimous) UFC on ESPN: Song vs. Simón

Las Vegas, Nevada, United States Win

Chase Sherman Decision (unanimous) UFC Fight Night: Nzechukwu vs. Cuțelaba

Las Vegas, Nevada, United States Win

Jared Vanderaa Decision (unanimous) UFC Fight Night: Kattar vs. Allen

Las Vegas, Nevada, United States Win

Danilo Suzart TKO (punches) Dana White's Contender Series 48

Las Vegas, Nevada, United States Win

Thomas Petersen TKO (punches) LFA 129

Prior Lake, Minnesota, United States Win

Derrick Weaver TKO (punches) LFA 124

Phoenix, Arizona, United States Win

Muhammed DeReese Decision (unanimous) Bellator 271

Hollywood, Florida, United States Win

Jordan Powell Decision (unanimous) RUF 43

Phoenix, Arizona, United States Win

Edison Lopes Submission (kimura) RUF 42

Phoenix, Arizona, United States Win

Odell Pantin KO (punch) Iron Boy MMA 11

Phoenix, Arizona, United States Professional boxing record