Heavyweight
Waldo Cortes Acosta
17-3-0 UFC 10-4-0
Granite Chin
Durable
—Height
—Reach
—Stance
—Age
5KO wins
0Sub wins
50.0%Finish rate
11:31Avg fight
Skill profile
striking
decent
1 read
grappling
not yet read
wrestling
not yet read
cardio
not yet read
durability
not yet read
Granite Chin
never dropped in 161 minutes of cage time · 0 losses by knockout
Durable
strong durability — rates 86 of 100 among UFC veterans
Career rates — the raw numbers behind the chart
Sig. strikes landed / min4.88
Sig. strikes absorbed / min3.43
Striking accuracy47.5%
Striking defense55.4%
Knockdowns / 15 min0.56
Takedowns / 15 min0.37
Takedown accuracy50.0%
Takedown defense69.7%
Sub attempts / 15 min0.09
Control time8.6%
Record vs .500+ opponents7-4
Insider info
Jared Vanderaa favored — picked against Waldo Cortes Acosta lean UFC Fight Night: Kattar vs Allen · October 26, 2022
strikingdecent
The pick rests on Vanderaa's history of ignoring his own grappling advantage and instead trading standing, where Cortez-Acosta's chin and boxing give him a real chance to land clean.
Making his UFC debut, Cortez-Acosta brings a credible boxing background and a chin that's held up so far, letting him absorb shots and keep pressing forward. He doesn't have standout power, but the read leans his way mainly because his opponent has a well-documented habit of standing and trading instead of using his own considerable grappling advantage. If that pattern repeats, Cortez-Acosta getting the better of the standup exchanges is viewed as the likely outcome, even without a huge power edge himself.
Strengthcredible boxing background
Strengthgood chin, has absorbed shots and kept coming forward
Strengthundefeated record entering the promotion
Weaknesslacks standout knockout power
Weaknessunproven against the higher level of competition his opponent has already faced
Striking trend
Fight history
L Curtis Blaydes 19-5 walk-in Decision - Unanimous · R3 5:00 — Noche UFC: Silva vs. Delgado · September 12, 2026
28/95Sig. strikes
24/74Absorbed
0/0Takedowns
0:00Control
0Knockdowns
0Sub attempts
L Alexander Volkov 39-11 walk-in Decision - Unanimous · R3 5:00 — UFC 328: Chimaev vs. Strickland · May 9, 2026
54/130Sig. strikes
88/143Absorbed
0/1Takedowns
0:01Control
0Knockdowns
0Sub attempts
W Derrick Lewis 29-12 walk-in KO/TKO · R2 3:14 — UFC 324: Gaethje vs. Pimblett · January 24, 2026
44/62Sig. strikes
8/43Absorbed
1/1Takedowns
0:28Control
1Knockdowns
0Sub attempts
W Shamil Gaziev 14-1 walk-in KO/TKO · R1 1:22 — UFC Fight Night: Tsarukyan vs. Hooker · November 22, 2025
10/21Sig. strikes
6/15Absorbed
0/0Takedowns
0:08Control
2Knockdowns
0Sub attempts
W Ante Delija 26-6 walk-in KO/TKO · R1 3:59 — UFC Fight Night: Garcia vs. Onama · November 1, 2025
12/17Sig. strikes
16/36Absorbed
0/0Takedowns
1:37Control
1Knockdowns
0Sub attempts
L Sergei Pavlovich 19-3 walk-in Decision - Unanimous · R3 5:00 — UFC Fight Night: Walker vs. Zhang · August 23, 2025
45/117Sig. strikes
61/133Absorbed
0/0Takedowns
0:00Control
0Knockdowns
0Sub attempts
W Serghei Spivac 17-5 walk-in Decision - Unanimous · R3 5:00 — UFC 316: Dvalishvili vs. O'Malley 2 · June 7, 2025
110/235Sig. strikes
48/119Absorbed
0/0Takedowns
0:00Control
0Knockdowns
0Sub attempts
W Ryan Spann 22-10 walk-in KO/TKO · R2 4:48 — UFC Fight Night: Vettori vs. Dolidze 2 · March 15, 2025
66/111Sig. strikes
23/86Absorbed
0/1Takedowns
0:57Control
1Knockdowns
0Sub attempts
W Robelis Despaigne 5-0 walk-in Decision - Unanimous · R3 5:00 — UFC Fight Night: Lewis vs. Nascimento · May 11, 2024
52/101Sig. strikes
26/52Absorbed
3/4Takedowns
9:49Control
0Knockdowns
1Sub attempts
W Andrei Arlovski 33-22 walk-in Decision - Unanimous · R3 5:00 — UFC Fight Night: Ankalaev vs. Walker 2 · January 13, 2024
49/136Sig. strikes
58/127Absorbed
0/0Takedowns
0:00Control
0Knockdowns
0Sub attempts
W Lukasz Brzeski 0-2 walk-in KO/TKO · R1 3:01 — UFC Fight Night: Holloway vs. The Korean Zombie · August 26, 2023
15/45Sig. strikes
14/22Absorbed
0/0Takedowns
0:01Control
1Knockdowns
0Sub attempts
L Marcos Rogerio de Lima 20-8-1 walk-in Decision - Unanimous · R3 5:00 — UFC Fight Night: Song vs. Simon · April 29, 2023
82/150Sig. strikes
59/76Absorbed
0/1Takedowns
0:34Control
0Knockdowns
0Sub attempts
W Chase Sherman 16-10 walk-in Decision - Unanimous · R3 5:00 — UFC Fight Night: Nzechukwu vs. Cutelaba · November 19, 2022
147/278Sig. strikes
66/177Absorbed
0/0Takedowns
0:13Control
0Knockdowns
0Sub attempts
W Jared Vanderaa 12-9 walk-in Decision - Unanimous · R3 5:00 — UFC Fight Night: Kattar vs. Allen · October 29, 2022
73/158Sig. strikes
56/138Absorbed
0/0Takedowns
0:03Control
0Knockdowns
0Sub attempts
Walk-in records count UFC bouts in this database. For the pre-UFC career, see the record breakdown below or the Tapology button up top.
Record breakdown
Wins by method
KO/TKO
9
Submission
1
Decision
7
Other
0
Losses by method
KO/TKO
0
Submission
0
Decision
3
Other
0
Fights by organization
UFC
13
LFA
2
RUF
2
Dana White's Contender Series
1
Bellator
1
Iron Boy MMA
1
Full career — 20 fights, every organization
| Opponent | Method | Event | Org | Rd | Time | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| L | Alexander Volkov | Decision (unanimous) | UFC 328
May 9, 2026 |
UFC | 3 | 5:00 |
| W | Derrick Lewis | TKO (punches) | UFC 324
January 24, 2026 |
UFC | 2 | 3:14 |
| W | Shamil Gaziev | KO (punches) | UFC Fight Night: Tsarukyan vs. Hooker
November 22, 2025 |
UFC | 1 | 1:22 |
| W | Ante Delija | KO (punches) | UFC Fight Night: Garcia vs. Onama
November 1, 2025 |
UFC | 1 | 3:59 |
| L | Sergei Pavlovich | Decision (unanimous) | UFC Fight Night: Walker vs. Zhang
August 23, 2025 |
UFC | 3 | 5:00 |
| W | Serghei Spivac | Decision (unanimous) | UFC 316
June 7, 2025 |
UFC | 3 | 5:00 |
| W | Ryan Spann | KO (punches) | UFC Fight Night: Vettori vs. Dolidze 2
March 15, 2025 |
UFC | 2 | 4:48 |
| W | Robelis Despaigne | Decision (unanimous) | UFC on ESPN: Lewis vs. Nascimento
May 11, 2024 |
UFC | 3 | 5:00 |
| W | Andrei Arlovski | Decision (unanimous) | UFC Fight Night: Ankalaev vs. Walker 2
January 13, 2024 |
UFC | 3 | 5:00 |
| W | Łukasz Brzeski | KO (punches) | UFC Fight Night: Holloway vs. The Korean Zombie
August 26, 2023 |
UFC | 1 | 3:01 |
| L | Marcos Rogério de Lima | Decision (unanimous) | UFC on ESPN: Song vs. Simón
April 29, 2023 |
UFC | 3 | 5:00 |
| W | Chase Sherman | Decision (unanimous) | UFC Fight Night: Nzechukwu vs. Cuțelaba
November 19, 2022 |
UFC | 3 | 5:00 |
| W | Jared Vanderaa | Decision (unanimous) | UFC Fight Night: Kattar vs. Allen
October 29, 2022 |
UFC | 3 | 5:00 |
| W | Danilo Suzart | TKO (punches) | Dana White's Contender Series 48
August 2, 2022 |
Dana White's Contender Series | 1 | 3:40 |
| W | Thomas Petersen | TKO (punches) | LFA 129
April 15, 2022 |
LFA | 3 | 4:53 |
| W | Derrick Weaver | TKO (punches) | LFA 124
February 11, 2022 |
LFA | 2 | 0:22 |
| W | Muhammed DeReese | Decision (unanimous) | Bellator 271
November 12, 2021 |
Bellator | 3 | 5:00 |
| W | Jordan Powell | Decision (unanimous) | RUF 43
August 29, 2021 |
RUF | 3 | 5:00 |
| W | Edison Lopes | Submission (kimura) | RUF 42
July 31, 2021 |
RUF | 1 | 3:12 |
| W | Odell Pantin | KO (punch) | Iron Boy MMA 11
May 19, 2018 |
Iron Boy MMA | 2 | 1:23 |
Career history from the fighter's Wikipedia record table (Waldo Cortes-Acosta) — results only, no strike stats; UFC bouts are marked and carry full stats in the fight history above.