Fighter Profile›Heavyweight

“Salsa Boy”

Waldo Cortes Acosta

17-212 UFC

Pressure Fighter

Form

· 3W

Early Chaos

Output Builds Late

6'4"ht·78"reach·Orthodoxstance·34age

Last fightWDerrick Lewis·KO/TKO·R2·3mo ago

Fighter Context

10–2UFC·

5KO

0Sub

5Dec

10.9min/fight

135UFC min

vs. Winning-Record Opps

7–2(9 fights)

57%finish rate

+1.8str diff/min

vs. Veteran Opps

4–1(5 fights)

50%finish rate

+2.8str diff/min

vs. Elite Opps

2–0(2 fights)

50%finish rate

+1.9str diff/min

CQ Key Stats

Striking Differential

+2.16

Dominant

92%ile

Significant strikes landed per minute minus strikes absorbed per minute. Positive values indicate a net striking advantage.

Adj. TD Threat

0.084

Average

51%ile

CageQuant derived signal for measuring takedown offense adjusted for average division opponents.

⚠ TD accuracy based on a small number of career attempts. May shift with more data.

Durability

100

Ironclad

98%ile

CageQuant derived signal that measures how well a fighter holds up to damage. Based on stoppage history and knockdowns absorbed over their career.

Round Win Rate

77%

Dominant

91%ile

CageQuant derived signal. Completed rounds won, scored by CageQuant's proprietary formula rather than official judging.

Striking

Acosta

Blitzer

Head Hunter

Heavyweight avg

Sig. Strikes / Min5.54

Str. Accuracy49%

705UFC landed/1,431attempted

Sig. Absorbed / min

−0.3 vs avg3.38

Str. Defense56%

KD Rate / fight0.50

6UFC knockdowns

KD Absorbed / fightNone on record

CQ KO Power

Average58%ile0.85

Strike Distribution

By Target

Head

73%

Body

14%

Leg

12%

By Position

Distance85%

Clinch4%

Ground10%

Sig. Strikes by Round

	Round 112 rounds	Round 29 rounds	Round 37 rounds
Avg. Landed	17	31	31
Avg. Absorbed	13	16	21
Avg. Net	+5	+15	+10

Grappling

Acosta·72s ctrlAverage Control

Heavyweight avg

Offense

TD Landed / 15 Min0.44

TD Attempts / 15 MinUFC ONLY0.80

TD Accuracy57%

4UFC landed/7attempted

Sub Attempts / 15 Min0.10

0UFC wins/1attempted

Defense

Elite TD Def

TD Defense72%

16UFC defended/22opp. attempts

Sub Defense

Not Sub Tested

Finishing

Finish Rate

50%

Average

div avg 68%

How They Lose

2UFC losses

Win Breakdown

KO / TKO5 / 10

Submission0 / 10

Decision5 / 10

KD → Finish

5/5Lethal

Loss Breakdown

KO / TKO0 / 2

Submission0 / 2

Decision2 / 2

Loss Pattern

Outscored

2 of 2 losses by decision

Explosive starter. 5 KOs, all inside R1-R2

Finish Round Distribution

KO/TKO W

Cards & Decisions

Recovery Rate

50%

4 of 8 rounds won following a lost round

Decision Margin

1.9pts

W5 dec

1.3pts

L2 dec

field avg 1.95 pts

Decision Types

7UD

0SD

0MD

Career Trajectory

Win

Loss

D/NC

Elite opp (15+ wins)

Veteran opp (8+ wins)

sig. strikes trending down. Averaging 22 less in second half of career

12 UFC fights · hover for details · colored line = 3-fight rolling avg

Pace & Cardio

Output Builds Late

Output

Absorbed

Diff

R1n=12

R2n=9

R3n=7

Outputsig strikes / min

3.9

6.5

6.2

Absorbedsig strikes / min

2.8

3.4

4.2

Diff

+1.1

+3.2

+2.1

Per-round averages across career · partial final rounds included at actual elapsed time · rounds below 5 min. career total suppressed · dashed lines = division avg

Last 8 Fights — Trend

▼Absorbed-67%L3

Last 8 UFC fights · Absorbed & Strike Diff = index vs career avg (1.0 = avg, 0 = breakeven) · Orange dots = KDs absorbed

Elite oppVeteran opp

Acosta — 12 UFC Fights

Result

Method

12 fights

Derrick LewisElite

KO/TKO R2 · 3:14Jan '26

+36

·44 SS (71%)·8 abs·1/1 td·28s ctrl·1 kd landed

Shamil Gaziev

KO/TKO R1 · 1:22Nov '25

·10 SS (48%)·6 abs·8s ctrl·2 kd landed

Ante Delija

KO/TKO R1 · 3:59Nov '25

-4

·12 SS (71%)·16 abs·97s ctrl·1 kd landed

Sergei Pavlovich

U-DEC R3Aug '25

-16

·45 SS (38%)·61 abs

Serghei SpivacVeteran

U-DEC R3Jun '25

+62

·110 SS (47%)·48 abs·2 td taken

Ryan SpannVeteran

KO/TKO R2 · 4:48Mar '25

+43

·66 SS (59%)·23 abs·0/1 td·57s ctrl·1 kd landed

Robelis Despaigne

U-DEC R3May '24

+26

·52 SS (51%)·26 abs·3/4 td·589s ctrl·1 sub att

Andrei ArlovskiElite

U-DEC R3Jan '24

-9

·49 SS (36%)·58 abs

Lukasz Brzeski

KO/TKO R1 · 3:01Aug '23

·15 SS (33%)·14 abs·1 kd landed

Marcos Rogerio de LimaVeteran

U-DEC R3Apr '23

+23

·82 SS (55%)·59 abs·0/1 td·3 td taken·34s ctrl

Acosta — Prior Tracked Fights (1)

WDanilo SuzartDWCSKO/TKOR1Aug 2022

All Fighters

Heavyweight

“Salsa Boy”

Waldo Cortes Acosta

17-212 UFC

Form

6'4"ht·78"reach·Orthodoxstance·34age

Last fightWDerrick Lewis·KO/TKO·3mo ago

Fighter Context

10–2UFC·

5KO

0Sub

5Dec

10.9min/fight

135UFC min

vs. Winning Record7–2

vs. Veterans (8+ W)4–1

vs. Elite (15+ W)2–0

CQ Key Stats

Str. Differential

+2.16

92%ile

Significant strikes landed per minute minus strikes absorbed per minute. Positive values indicate a net striking advantage.

Adj. TD Threat

0.084

51%ile

CageQuant derived signal for measuring takedown offense adjusted for average division opponents.

Durability

100

98%ile

CageQuant derived signal that measures how well a fighter holds up to damage. Based on stoppage history and knockdowns absorbed over their career.

Round Win Rate

77%

91%ile

CageQuant derived signal. Completed rounds won, scored by CageQuant's proprietary formula rather than official judging.

Striking

Acosta

Heavyweight avg

BlitzerHead Hunter

Sig. Strikes / Min5.54

Str. Accuracy49%

705UFC landed/1,431attempted

Sig. Absorbed / Min

−0.3 vs avg3.38

Str. Defense56%

KD Rate / Fight0.50

6UFC knockdowns

KD Absorbed / FightNone on record

CQ KO Power

Average58%ile0.85

Strike Distribution

By Target

Head

73%

Body

14%

Leg

12%

By Position

Dist85%

Clinch4%

Ground10%

Sig. Strikes by Round(career avg per round)

	R1 n=12	R2 n=9	R3 n=7
Landed	17	31	31
Absorbed	13	16	21
Net	+5	+15	+10

Grappling

Acosta

Heavyweight avg

72s ctrlAverage Control

Offense

TD Landed / 15 Min0.44

TD Attempts / 15 MinUFC ONLY0.80

TD Accuracy57%

4UFC landed/7attempted

Sub Attempts / 15 Min0.10

0UFC wins/1attempted

Defense

Elite TD Def

TD Defense72%

16UFC defended/22opp. attempts

Finishing

Finish Rate

50%

Average

Win Methods

5KO/TKO

0Sub

5Dec

Loss Methods

0KO/TKO

0Sub

2Dec

Finish Round Distribution

KO (W)

Cards & Decisions

Recovery RateRounds won after a lost round.

50%4 of 8 rounds

Decision MarginAvg pts/round on judges' scorecards.

1.9pts

W5 dec

1.3pts

L2 dec

field avg 1.95 pts

Decision Types

7UD

0SD

0MD

Career Trajectory chart available on desktop.

Pace & Cardio

Output Builds Late

Output

Absorbed

Diff

R1n=12

R2n=9

R3n=7

Outputsig strikes / min

3.9

6.5

6.2

Absorbedsig strikes / min

2.8

3.4

4.2

Diff

+1.1

+3.2

+2.1

Per-round career averages · partial rounds time-adjusted · dashed = division avg

Acosta — UFC Fight Log

Derrick LewisElite

KO/TKO·R2·Jan '26

44 SS (71%)·8 abs·1/1 td·28s ctrl·1 kd

Shamil Gaziev

KO/TKO·R1·Nov '25

10 SS (48%)·6 abs·8s ctrl·2 kd

Ante Delija

KO/TKO·R1·Nov '25

12 SS (71%)·16 abs·97s ctrl·1 kd

Sergei Pavlovich

U-DEC·R3·Aug '25

45 SS (38%)·61 abs

Serghei SpivacVeteran

U-DEC·R3·Jun '25

110 SS (47%)·48 abs·2 td taken

Ryan SpannVeteran

KO/TKO·R2·Mar '25

66 SS (59%)·23 abs·0/1 td·57s ctrl·1 kd

Robelis Despaigne

U-DEC·R3·May '24

52 SS (51%)·26 abs·3/4 td·589s ctrl·1 sub

Andrei ArlovskiElite

U-DEC·R3·Jan '24

49 SS (36%)·58 abs

Acosta — Prior Tracked Fights (1)

WDanilo SuzartDWCSKO/TKOR1Aug 2022

Round 112 rounds

Round 29 rounds

Round 37 rounds

Avg. Landed

Avg. Absorbed

Avg. Net

+15

+10

n=12

n=9

n=7

Landed

Absorbed

Net

+15

+10