Waldo Cortes-Acosta wants Derrick Lewis or Tai Tuivasa after KO win at UFC Vegas 104
LAS VEGAS – A big name with a big punch. That's what Waldo Cortes-Acosta is looking for in his next career move.
The Dominican rising heavyweight contender called out Derrick Lewis and Tai Tuivasa following his latest triumph in the octagon. Cortes-Acosta (13-1 MMA, 6-1 UFC) knocked out veteran Spann (22-11 MMA, 8-6 UFC) this past Saturday at UFC Fight Night 254, putting him on a four-fight wining streak and 6-1 in his seven UFC outings.
'Derrick Lewis or Tai Tuivasa, I'm ready for them,' Cortes-Acosta said in his in-cage, post-fight interview.
Although Spann was coming up from light heavyweight for this fight, Cortes-Acosta believes the win will still propel him in the division, given Spann's history at light heavyweight.
'Absolutely, this will push me in the rankings because Ryan Spann is not anybody,' Cortes-Acosta said at the UFC Fight Night 254 post-fight press conference. 'You guys know that Ryan Spann moved to heavyweight and is still fighting (at light heavyweight), and he's close to the top 10. Ryan Spann is a good fighter. Today he didn't show up because I trained hard for that, but I think for the other heavyweights he's going to be trouble.'
Cortes-Acosta hopes to log in two more fights this 2025, and big ones if possible. Should that happen, he can see himself knocking on the door of a title in 2026.
'I visualize this year with two more fights and then try to fight for the title,' Cortes-Acosta said. 'I want them to give me some big names. I'm going to do my best to get to that title, God willing.'
For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie's event hub for UFC Fight Night 254.
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Yahoo
an hour ago
- Yahoo
Video: UFC 316 pre-fight press conference live stream
The UFC 316 pre-fight press conference takes place Thursday, and you can watch a live stream of the event in the video above. The press conference takes place at Prudential Center in Newark N.J., which also hosts Saturday's fight card. UFC 316 is built around two title fights. In the main event, bantamweight champ Merab Dvalishvili (19-4 MMA, 12-2 UFC) will rematch Sean O'Malley (18-2 MMA, 10-2 UFC), while in the co-main event women's bantamweight titleholder Julianna Peña (11-5 MMA, 8-3 UFC) meets Kayla Harrison (18-1 MMA, 2-0 UFC). Advertisement Here's what you need to know about the UFC 316 press conference. What time does the UFC 316 press conference start? The UFC 316 press conference starts at 5 p.m. ET/2 p.m. PT. Who's taking part in the UFC 316 press conference? Ten fighters from five main-card bouts are slated to participate in the UFC 316 press conference: Dvalishvili, O'Malley, Peña, Harrison, Joe Pyfer, Kelvin Gastelum, Mario Bautista, Patchy Mix, Vicente Luque and Kevin Holland It's unclear if UFC CEO Dana White will oversee the UFC 316 pre-fight press conference. This article originally appeared on MMA Junkie: UFC 316 pre-fight press conference live stream
USA Today
an hour ago
- USA Today
Manager: Like Khabib Nurmagomedov, Movsar Evloev willing to take long road to UFC title
Manager: Like Khabib Nurmagomedov, Movsar Evloev willing to take long road to UFC title MORRISTOWN, N.J. – Ali Abdelaziz says Movsar Evloev is happy to prove he's the rightful No. 1 contender – no matter how long it takes. Despite being undefeated and 9-0 in the octagon, Evloev (19-0 MMA, 9-0 UFC) is not next in line for a title shot, which even surprised UFC featherweight champion Alexander Volkanovski. Evloev is rumored to welcome Bellator standout Aaron Pico to the UFC, but nothing has been confirmed. Evloev's past three wins have come over former title challenger Diego Lopes, top contender Arnold Allen, and most recently former champion Aljamain Sterling at UFC 310. Abdelaziz has had numerous clients who have had to go on almost double-digit win streaks before getting their title shot, and says Evloev embodies the same mentality. "The UFC, half of them want him to get a title shot. The other half ... Anyway, if Movsar needs to get one more, he said Khabib (Nurmagomedov) did it, Islam (Makhachev) did it, Kamaru (Usman) did it, Belal (Muhammad) did it," Abdelaziz told MMA Junkie. "If he has to get one more and be on a 10-fight win streak, he will do it. "If he goes out there next fight and he wins – he doesn't have a fight officially yet – but he deserves to be fighting for the title. But at the end of the day, we'll follow the system. He said this: 'If I'm the best in the world, and if I lose before I get to the title, I'm not the best in the world.' This is the same thing Khabib told me, Islam told me, Kamaru told me. These guys (that) have the same mentality, they go a long way." Nurmagomedov, Makhachev, Usman and Muhammad, all managed by Abdelaziz, became UFC champions. Makhachev currently is the UFC's lightweight titleholder.
USA Today
2 hours ago
- USA Today
UFC bantamweight title history: Dominick Cruz, Aljamain Sterling, Merab Dvalishvili, more
UFC bantamweight title history: Dominick Cruz, Aljamain Sterling, Merab Dvalishvili, more (This story was updated to add new information.) The bantamweight title is on the line in the UFC 316 main event when champion Merab Dvalishvili (19-4 MMA, 12-2 UFC) takes on ex-champ Sean O'Malley (18-2 MMA, 10-2 UFC) in a rematch. Take a look at a chronological history of the UFC's 135-pound title, which migrated over from the WEC in 2010 when the promotions merged. Dominick Cruz Date: Dec. 16, 2010 Dec. 16, 2010 Event: WEC 53 WEC 53 Opponent: Scott Jorgensen Scott Jorgensen Total reign: 1,117 days 1,117 days Title defenses: Urijah Faber, Demetrious Johnson Renan Barao (interim) Date: July 21, 2012 July 21, 2012 Event: UFC 149 UFC 149 Opponent: Urijah Faber Urijah Faber Total reign: 534 days as interim champ; 138 days after being promoted to champion (Jan. 6, 2014) 534 days as interim champ; 138 days after being promoted to champion (Jan. 6, 2014) Title defenses: Michael McDonald, Eddie Wineland, Urijah Faber T.J. Dillashaw Date: May 24, 2014 May 24, 2014 Event: UFC 173 UFC 173 Opponent: Renan Barao Renan Barao Total reign: 603 days 603 days Title defenses: Joe Soto, Renan Barao Dominick Cruz Date: Jan. 17, 2016 Jan. 17, 2016 Event: UFC Fight Night 81 UFC Fight Night 81 Opponent: T.J. Dillashaw T.J. Dillashaw Total reign: 348 days 348 days Title defenses: Urijah Faber Cody Garbrandt Date: Dec. 30, 2016 Dec. 30, 2016 Event: UFC 207 UFC 207 Opponent: Dominick Cruz Dominick Cruz Total reign: 309 days 309 days Title defenses: None T.J. Dillashaw Date: Nov. 4, 2017 Nov. 4, 2017 Event: UFC 217 UFC 217 Opponent: Cody Garbrandt Cody Garbrandt Total reign: 501 days 501 days Title defenses: Cody Garbrandt Henry Cejudo Date: June 8, 2019 June 8, 2019 Event: UFC 238 UFC 238 Opponent: Marlon Moraes Marlon Moraes Total reign: 352 days 352 days Title defenses: Dominick Cruz Petr Yan Date: July 12, 2020 July 12, 2020 Event: UFC 251 UFC 251 Opponent: Jose Aldo Jose Aldo Total reign: 237 days 237 days Title defenses: None Aljamain Sterling Date: March 6, 2021 March 6, 2021 Event: UFC 259 UFC 259 Opponent: Petr Yan Petr Yan Total reign: 896 days 896 days Title defenses: Petr Yan, T.J. Dillashaw, Henry Cejudo Petr Yan (interim) Date: Oct. 30, 2021 Oct. 30, 2021 Event: UFC 267 UFC 267 Opponent: Cory Sandhagen Cory Sandhagen Title defenses: None Sean O'Malley Date: Aug. 19, 2023 Aug. 19, 2023 Event: UFC 292 UFC 292 Opponent: Aljamain Sterling Aljamain Sterling Total reign: 393 days 393 days Title defenses: Marlon Vera Merab Dvalishvili
