Waldo Cortes Acosta vs. Curtis Blaydes
Tale of the tape
The read
Level of competition
Waldo Cortes Acosta
| Competition tier | W | L |
|---|---|---|
| Tier 1 — UFC / DWCS / PFL / Bellator / ONE / Rizin | 12 | 3 |
| Tier 2 — LFA / Cage Warriors (feeder belts) | 2 | 0 |
| Tier 3 — regional circuit | 3 | 0 |
Tier-weighted record quality: 1.86 · 14 tier-1/2 wins · 10 finish wins over 20 documented bouts
In the UFC: 7-4 against opponents who walked in above .500 · avg opponent walk-in record +2.8 wins over .500
Curtis Blaydes
| Competition tier | W | L |
|---|---|---|
| Tier 1 — UFC / DWCS / PFL / Bellator / ONE / Rizin | 14 | 5 |
| Tier 2 — LFA / Cage Warriors (feeder belts) | 1 | 0 |
| Tier 3 — regional circuit | 4 | 0 |
Tier-weighted record quality: 1.53 · 15 tier-1/2 wins · 13 finish wins over 25 documented bouts
In the UFC: 12-6 against opponents who walked in above .500 · avg opponent walk-in record +3.7 wins over .500
Striking
Significant strikes — landed & absorbed
Where the fight happens (share of sig. strike attempts)
Waldo Cortes Acosta
Distance 90.9% (norm 79.2%) · Clinch 2.5% (norm 9.8%) · Ground 6.6% (norm 9.3%)
Curtis Blaydes
Distance 70.5% (norm 79.2%) · Clinch 10.9% (norm 9.8%) · Ground 18.6% (norm 9.3%)
What they throw (share of sig. strike attempts by target)
Waldo Cortes Acosta
Head 81.3% (norm 79.2%) · Body 9.9% (norm 11.5%) · Legs 8.8% (norm 7.6%)
Curtis Blaydes
Head 83.0% (norm 79.2%) · Body 6.6% (norm 11.5%) · Legs 10.4% (norm 7.6%)
Zone accuracy matrix Landed / attempted by zone
Green ≥ division median, red below. UFCStats tracks position and target as separate splits.
| Zone | Acosta L/A | Acc | Heavyweight med | Blaydes L/A | Acc | Heavyweight med |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| BY POSITION | ||||||
| At distance | 697 / 1505 | 46.3% | 40.1% | 444 / 1146 | 38.7% | 40.1% |
| In the clinch | 24 / 41 | 58.5% | 70.4% | 145 / 177 | 81.9% | 70.4% |
| On the ground | 66 / 110 | 60.0% | 70.2% | 244 / 303 | 80.5% | 70.2% |
| BY TARGET | ||||||
| To the head | 558 / 1347 | 41.4% | 39.0% | 590 / 1349 | 43.7% | 39.0% |
| To the body | 113 / 164 | 68.9% | 77.0% | 93 / 108 | 86.1% | 77.0% |
| To the legs | 116 / 145 | 80.0% | 87.8% | 150 / 169 | 88.8% | 87.8% |
Zones with fewer than 25 attempts are marked "too few to rate". Each fighter is measured against the median of leaderboard-eligible fighters in his own division (Heavyweight: 93 fighters · Heavyweight: 93 fighters).
What lands on them Opponents' accuracy against each man
Green ≤ division median — harder to hit than the typical man in his division.
| Zone | vs Acosta L/A | Opp acc | Heavyweight med | vs Blaydes L/A | Opp acc | Heavyweight med |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| BY POSITION | ||||||
| At distance | 539 / 1212 | 44.5% | 40.7% | 455 / 1116 | 40.8% | 40.7% |
| In the clinch | 12 / 26 | 46.2% | 70.6% | 82 / 108 | 75.9% | 70.6% |
| On the ground | 2 / 3 | too few to rate | 72.2% | 25 / 30 | 83.3% | 72.2% |
| BY TARGET | ||||||
| To the head | 217 / 845 | 25.7% | 39.3% | 461 / 1124 | 41.0% | 39.3% |
| To the body | 112 / 155 | 72.3% | 75.1% | 64 / 87 | 73.6% | 75.1% |
| To the legs | 224 / 241 | 92.9% | 84.4% | 37 / 43 | 86.0% | 84.4% |
Grappling
Bars compare the two men's rates (per-minute / per-15 figures), not raw totals — Blaydes has more cage time on record.