On the undercard of UFC 324 last Saturday, Waldo Cortes-Acosta only needed two rounds, as he stopped Derrick Lewis for a TKO win. “Salsa Boy” was precise with his attack, landing 44 out of 62 significant strikes (70%). It was his third consecutive stoppage victory in as many fights.
The native of Fundación, Dominican Republic, has proven himself as one of the most exciting fighters to watch in the heavyweight division. Following his victory, Cortes-Acosta already had his next opponent in mind: Curtis Blaydes.
We consider that and three other possible opponents for Cortes-Acosta’s next UFC fight.
Curtis Blaydes
“Razor” is coming off a split decision win against Rizvan Kuniev, last June. Curtis Blaydes was in control, as he connected 101 total strikes, to Kuniev’s 58 total. He also scored two takedowns, with 5:21 of control time. Blaydes bounced back from a first-round knockout loss to then-interim UFC Heavyweight champion, Tom Aspinall, at UFC 304 in July 2024.
Cortes-Acosta has business to settle with Blaydes inside the octagon. And he revealed the American had words for him on social media previously. There’s only one way to even the score here.
Jailton Almeida
The native of Salvador, Bahia, Brazil, hit a setback in his last outing against Alexander Volkov at UFC 321 last October. Despite Jailton Almeida’s control on the ground, he was outlanded significantly on strikes. He managed to land just 27, while Volkov landed a punishing 122 out of 130 total strikes.
Despite his latest defeat, Almeida remains a dangerous opponent at heavyweight. Only one of his 22 wins has gone to the judges’ scorecards. He is set to take on Kuniev on Feb. 6.
Sergei Pavlovich
The Russian native defeated Cortes-Acosta by unanimous decision last August. However, he has been away from the octagon since then. Sergei Pavlovich remains one of the top competitors in the heavyweight division. 15 of his 22 wins have come by way of stoppage. Although Cortes-Acosta doesn’t have his sights set on a rematch, avenging the loss can solidify his status among the rankings.
Alexander Volkov
Alexander Volkov suffered a tough split decision loss to Ciryl Gane at UFC 310 in December 2024. However, he bounced back from the defeat with a split decision win over Almeida last October. He is currently ranked No. 3 in our heavyweight rankings.
While Volkov has yet to challenge for the championship title, he remains very much in the picture. As Cortes-Acosta may seek to make his own case for a shot, Volkov certainly makes an intriguing opponent.
