“Three days’ notice. I’m born to fight, coming for everybody.” Waldo Cortes-Acosta wrote on X as his surprising quick turnaround at UFC Qatar became one of the most interesting storylines ahead of the event. To raise the stakes even higher, Salsa Boy was appearing for the fifth time this year, and because of that, UFC fans doubted his chances against Shamil Gaziev. But the Dominican Republic native pulled off one of the most impressive knockouts of the event so far.
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From the opening bell, the heavyweights made their intentions known as both came aggressively at each other. Gaziev especially had tremendous success with his forward movement, landing bombs on Cortes-Acosta against the cage. However, in the heat of the exchange, ‘Salsa Boy’ landed a crushing right hook that shut Gaziev’s lights off, and Waldo Cortes-Acosta claimed his fifth victory of the year. After getting the win, he didn’t waste any time trolling Tom Aspinall.
After his last win against Tom Aspinall‘s teammate Ante Delija at UFC Fight Night: Garcia vs. Onama, ‘Salsa Boy’ was very critical of the Brit’s disappointing outing at Abu Dhabi. This time as well, Waldo Cortes-Acosta appeared with an eye patch while Bruce Buffer announced his name as the winner of the fight, making fun of the reigning heavyweight champion not continuing after Ciryl Gane poked him in the eye at UFC 321. Then, in the post-fight Octagon interview with Michael Bisping, he didn’t mince words and called out Aspinall as well.
He said, “Hey Tom Aspinall, I told you I go for you, you know. You see me today, what me do. I wanna break your head like that what me doing today.”
Waldo Cortes Acosta is him!
Waldo gets brutally eye poked, fights on, kos his opponent.
2 weeks later takes a fight on short notice and kos his opponent.
Aspinall is probably still trying to find a doctor to say he cant see lmao
#UFCQatar pic.twitter.com/mfqInd30S8
— SickydoesMMA (@SICKYDOESMMA) November 22, 2025
Well, that was definitely a callout that would most likely earn the reigning heavyweight champ’s attention. With his UFC Qatar knockout, Cortes Acosta has put himself in a position where he will most likely get a title shot after Tom Aspinall and Ciryl Gane finish their unfinished business, probably in January next year, under the Paramount+ CBS era.
However, it seems the Dominican Republic native cannot wait to cement his chances of becoming the next title challenger. Because of that, he’s not afraid to push another mile ahead and make a quick turnaround.
Waldo Cortes Acosta wants to fight in December after UFC Qatar victory
When it comes to activity in the heavyweight division, Salsa Boy has already set a standard this year that most likely won’t be repeated anytime soon. He made his fifth appearance tonight on the UFC Qatar main card, and now he wants another quick turnaround at the last UFC event of the year at UFC Fight Night: Royval vs Kape, which is set to go down on December 13 at the UFC Apex.
In the backstage interview with the UFC, Cortes-Acosta once again took a dig at Tom Aspinall and said, “I deserve the… I told everybody, the Tom Aspinall don’t want to fight Ciryl Gane, because of the problem in the eyes… he can’t see or something. I’m here for him. I wanna fight next month, December 13th for more my legacy, my history, and I’m ready for everything.”
Well, with only 22 days remaining for the UFC’s last event to take place, it won’t be surprising if we see Waldo Cortes Acosta one last time this year against another opponent. If not, then there’s an even higher chance that we might see him fighting in January as well.
That said, do you actually believe the UFC would let him fight one more time this year? Let us know in the comments section below.