Waldo Cortes-Acosta promises to not shy away from a good ol’ heavyweight showdown.
Cortes-Acosta (16-2 MMA, 9-2 UFC), a top contender in the UFC’s heavyweight division, is days away from the biggest fight of his career – a clash against former title challenger Derrick Lewis. The two knockout artists throw down on the main card of UFC 324 (Paramount+), which takes place Saturday at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas.
Advertisement
Although Lewis (29-12 MMA, 20-10 UFC) holds the record for the most knockouts in UFC history, Cortes-Acosta plans to bring the fight to “The Black Beast” and do what Lewis has done to a good chunk of the division for the past decade.
“Oh yeah, definitely,” Cortes-Acosta told Hablemos MMA in Spanish when asked if he plans to KO Lewis. “We’ll see if we leave him plastered like a statue for a little bit. Maybe I’ll take a picture with him.”
Apart from being a fun matchup, Cortes-Acosta vs. Lewis is also a crucial fight for the division. With the uncertainty surrounding Tom Aspinall‘s eye injury, wouldn’t be surprised if the promotion decides to implement an interim title in the weight class.
“I can see that happening,” Cortes-Acosta said. “I don’t know how comfortable he’s going to feel after having surgery, if he’s going to want to fight immediately or wait. I think I told you this before, but I think he’s going to do the same thing he did when he had his leg injury. I think he’s going to ease into it before fighting Ciryl Gane.”
Advertisement
Should the UFC implement an interim belt, Cortes-Acosta is down to fight for it, should he get his hand against Lewis this Saturday. The only thing is that he’s not interested in playing the waiting game.
“I don’t know if I’ll be getting a shot at the title, but if I don’t get it, I don’t want to be the guy that’s waiting eight months waiting for the other guy to prepare,” Cortes-Acosta said. “If I need to wait and wait, I’ll take another fight. It doesn’t matter. I want to stay active. I don’t want the division to stall. Now, if they want to give me the title shot or an interim title fight, have it be against a heavyweight that’s ready to fight. I’m not trying to wait.”
This article originally appeared on MMA Junkie: Waldo Cortes-Acosta out to turn Derrick Lewis into a statue at UFC 324
