Fighter profile

Waldo Cortes Acosta

“Salsa Boy”

Heavyweight · UFC record 10-4 · 14 detailed UFC fights · Last fight Sat 12 Sep 2026

Volume StrikerDistance Striker

Next bout: vs Johnny Walker · UFC Fight Night: Cortes Acosta vs Walker · Sat 7 Nov 2026

Fighter ratings

Ratings V2Rated

Striking (offense)82

Power84

Striking defense75

Takedown defense77

WrestlingProvisional measure73

Ratings V2 descriptive 0–100 scores (14 detailed fights; as of Sat 12 Sep 2026). Not win probabilities or rankings. Missing values stay unavailable.

Chin and Cardio · Frozen through October 17, 2026

R1 research scale

ChinEvidence: ESTABLISHED87.9

CardioEvidence: ESTABLISHED91.3

Source: R1 public_candidate_display · status: Research candidate · as of Sat 17 Oct 2026. Separate frozen research scale; fights after October 17, 2026 are not reflected.

About these ratings

Ratings are domain-specific descriptive scales. Equal point differences across different domains do not imply equal absolute skill differences.

Striking (offense) · Ratings V2: Ratings V2 striking-offense score built from recorded significant strikes landed per round, significant-strike accuracy and significant-strike differential.
Power · Ratings V2: Recorded knockdown and KO/TKO-win threat under the Ratings V2 contract (knockdowns per round, KO/TKO win rate); not literal measured punching force.
Striking defense · Ratings V2: Recorded strike avoidance (striking defense) and bounded absorption (strikes absorbed per round) under the Ratings V2 contract.
Takedown defense · Ratings V2: Recorded defense against incoming takedown attempts (takedown defense rate) under the Ratings V2 contract.
Wrestling · Ratings V2: Ratings V2 wrestling-offense score: recorded takedowns landed per round and takedown accuracy. Not ground control or complete grappling.
Chin · R1 research scale: Exposure-adjusted recorded knockdown resistance. This is not a direct biological measurement of chin, recovery, or injury resistance.
Cardio · R1 research scale: Recorded later-round striking activity and effectiveness retention. This is not a direct physiological fitness measurement.

Ratings V2 scores follow each fighter's latest recorded state; R1 research-scale scores are frozen through 17 Oct 2026. Recovery is separate metadata, not a rating. No combined rating exists.

Profile

Height: 193 cm (6'4")
Reach: 198 cm (6'6")
Stance: Orthodox
Age: 35

Last 3: W W L (most recent last)

Career statistics

Descriptive

14 detailed UFC fights · 34 rounds of recorded statistics. Exact totals from recorded UFC fights through Sat 12 Sep 2026; not opponent-adjusted and not model inputs.

Strikes landed23.1significant, per round

Strikes absorbed16.3per round

Striking differential+6.9per round

Takedown attempts0.24per round

Takedown defense69.7%of attempts stopped

Finish rate50.0%of UFC wins

Striking

Significant strikes landed per round: 23.1
Significant strikes absorbed per round: 16.3
Differential per round (landed − absorbed): +6.9
Striking accuracy: 47.5%
Striking defense (opponent strikes avoided): 55.4%
Knockdowns per round: 0.18
Target: head / body / leg: 70.9% / 14.4% / 14.7%
Position: distance / clinch / ground: 88.6% / 3.0% / 8.4%

Per-round figures divide recorded totals by rounds with statistics. Shares are of significant strikes landed.

Wrestling and grappling

Takedown attempts per round: 0.24
Takedowns landed per round: 0.12
Takedown accuracy: 50.0%
Takedown defense: 69.7%
Control time per round: 0:24
Submission attempts per round: 0.03
Reversals per round: 0.00

Attempts and landed takedowns are counted separately; accuracy is landed ÷ attempted.

Outcomes and durability

UFC record (W-L-D, NC): 10-4-0
Finish rate (wins by KO/TKO or submission): 50.0%
Wins by KO/TKO · submission · decision: 5 · 0 · 5
Losses by KO/TKO · submission · decision: 0 · 0 · 4
Knockdowns scored / suffered: 6 / 0
Average fight time: 11:16 (over 13 bouts)

Results as recorded by UFCStats. Fight time is elapsed time (completed rounds plus ending time) and includes draws and no-contests. These are outcomes, not biological measurements.

UFC fight history

Waldo Cortes Acosta — most recent UFC fights
Date	Opponent	Result	Method	End	Event
Sat 12 Sep 2026	Curtis Blaydes	L	U-DEC	R3 5:00	Noche UFC: Silva vs. Delgado
Sat 9 May 2026	Alexander Volkov	L	U-DEC	R3 5:00	UFC 328: Chimaev vs. Strickland
Sat 24 Jan 2026	Derrick Lewis	W	KO/TKO Punches	R2 3:14	UFC 324: Gaethje vs. Pimblett
Sat 22 Nov 2025	Shamil Gaziev	W	KO/TKO Punch	R1 1:22	UFC Fight Night: Tsarukyan vs. Hooker
Sat 1 Nov 2025	Ante Delija	W	KO/TKO Punch	R1 3:59	UFC Fight Night: Garcia vs. Onama

Show all 14 UFC fights

Waldo Cortes Acosta — earlier UFC fights
Date	Opponent	Result	Method	End	Event
Sat 23 Aug 2025	Sergei Pavlovich	L	U-DEC	R3 5:00	UFC Fight Night: Walker vs. Zhang
Sat 7 Jun 2025	Serghei Spivac	W	U-DEC	R3 5:00	UFC 316: Dvalishvili vs. O'Malley 2
Sat 15 Mar 2025	Ryan Spann	W	KO/TKO Punches	R2 4:48	UFC Fight Night: Vettori vs. Dolidze 2
Sat 11 May 2024	Robelis Despaigne	W	U-DEC	R3 5:00	UFC Fight Night: Lewis vs. Nascimento
Sat 13 Jan 2024	Andrei Arlovski	W	U-DEC	R3 5:00	UFC Fight Night: Ankalaev vs. Walker 2
Sat 26 Aug 2023	Lukasz Brzeski	W	KO/TKO Punches	R1 3:01	UFC Fight Night: Holloway vs. The Korean Zombie
Sat 29 Apr 2023	Marcos Rogerio de Lima	L	U-DEC	R3 5:00	UFC Fight Night: Song vs. Simon
Sat 19 Nov 2022	Chase Sherman	W	U-DEC	R3 5:00	UFC Fight Night: Nzechukwu vs. Cutelaba
Sat 29 Oct 2022	Jared Vanderaa	W	U-DEC	R3 5:00	UFC Fight Night: Kattar vs. Allen

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