Waldo Cortes Acosta vs Curtis Blaydes

Curtis Blaydes

Pro 20-6-0 (1 NC) | UFC 15-6-0

Age

35|35

Height

6'4"|6'4"

Reach

78"|80"

Stance

Orthodox|Orthodox

Career Statistics

Statistic	Waldo Cortes Acosta	Curtis Blaydes	Edge
Striking
Sig. Strike Accuracy	47.5%	51.2%	—
Sig. Strikes Landed/min	4.9	4.0	◄
Sig. Strikes Absorbed/min	3.4	2.7	—
Strike Differential	1.4/min	1.3/min	—
Grappling
Takedown Accuracy	50.0%	47.3%	—
Takedown Defense	69.7%	35.0%	◄
Takedowns Landed/15min	0.4	5.0	►
Submission Attempts/15min	0.1	0.0	—
Control Time/15min	1:17	6:34	►
Finishing Ability
KO/TKO % of Wins	50.0%	53.3%	—
Submission % of Wins	0.0%	0.0%	—
Decision % of Wins	50.0%	46.7%	—
Avg Fight Time	11:31	9:28	—
Secondary Stats
Knockdowns/15min	0.6	0.1	—
Reversals/15min	0.0	0.0	—
Edges	2	2	5 even

Fight Dynamics

Career Striking Volume

Waldo Cortes Acosta Curtis Blaydes League median

Statistic	Waldo Cortes Acosta	Curtis Blaydes	Edge
Fight Shape
Fight Completion Rate	76.9%	50.9%	—
Avg Fight Time	11:31	9:28	—
% Fights Inside the Distance	35.7%	59.1%	—
Strength of UFC Schedule
Opponent UFC Win % (all)	59.8%	75.0%	▶
Opponent UFC Record (all)	110-74 (59.8%)	120-40 (75.0%)	—
Opponent Record (among wins)	67-54 (55.4%)	83-31 (72.8%)	—
Positional Profile
% Time at Distance (approx.)	82.8%	51.9%	—
% Time in Control	8.6%	43.8%	▶
% Time Controlled	8.6%	4.3%	—
Control Rate of Clinch/Ground Time	50.0%	91.1%	▶
Distance Striking
Distance Sig. Landed / Min	5.21	4.10	◀
Distance Sig. Absorbed / Min	4.03	4.20	—
Distance Striking Differential / Min	+1.18	-0.10	◀
Distance Strike Accuracy	46.3%	38.7%	◀
Distance Strike Defense	55.5%	59.2%	—
Power & Pressure
KDs per 100 Power Strikes	0.99	0.44	◀
Knocked Down per 100 Absorbed	0.00	1.00	◀
TD Attempts per 5 Distance Min	0.30	6.83	—
TDs Faced per 5 Distance Min	1.23	0.92	—
Fade Index (R3 / R1 pace)	1.52	1.33	—

UFC fights only. Metrics with insufficient data show "—" and award no edge. Methodology →

Last 5 Fights (Averages)

Statistic	Waldo Cortes Acosta	Curtis Blaydes	Edge
Sig. Strike Accuracy	45.5%	54.2%	►
Sig. Strikes Landed/min	3.4	5.3	►
Sig. Strikes Absorbed/min	3.3	5.1	◄
Takedown Accuracy	50.0%	25.0%	◄
Takedown Defense	66.7%	35.7%	◄
Control Time/Fight	0:26	2:14	►
Edges	3	3	0 even

Last 3 Fights

Waldo Cortes Acosta

LOSS

vs. Curtis Blaydes

Noche UFC: Silva vs. Delgado • Sep 2026Heavyweight

Decision (Unanimous) • Rd 3, 5:00

Waldo Cortes Acosta28/9529%TD 0/0Ctrl 0:00

Curtis Blaydes24/7432%TD 4/10Ctrl 3:38

▼ Rounds

Rnd	Fighter	Sig Str	Acc	TD	Ctrl	KD
R1	Waldo Cortes Acosta	7/23	30%	0/0	0:00	—
	Curtis Blaydes	7/27	26%	1/3	1:13	—

R2	Waldo Cortes Acosta	9/36	25%	0/0	0:00	—
	Curtis Blaydes	9/24	38%	2/3	1:27	—

R3	Waldo Cortes Acosta	12/36	33%	0/0	0:00	—
	Curtis Blaydes	8/23	35%	1/4	0:58	—

LOSS

vs. Alexander Volkov

UFC 328: Chimaev vs. Strickland • May 2026Heavyweight

Decision (Unanimous) • Rd 3, 5:00

Waldo Cortes Acosta54/13042%TD 0/1Ctrl 0:01

Alexander Volkov88/14362%TD 0/1Ctrl 0:03

▼ Rounds

Rnd	Fighter	Sig Str	Acc	TD	Ctrl	KD
R1	Waldo Cortes Acosta	15/33	45%	0/0	0:00	—
	Alexander Volkov	33/44	75%	0/0	0:00	—

R2	Waldo Cortes Acosta	22/47	47%	0/0	0:00	—
	Alexander Volkov	34/56	61%	0/1	0:00	—

R3	Waldo Cortes Acosta	17/50	34%	0/1	0:01	—
	Alexander Volkov	21/43	49%	0/0	0:03	—

WIN

vs. Derrick Lewis

UFC 324: Gaethje vs. Pimblett • Jan 2026Heavyweight

KO/TKO (Punches) • Rd 2, 3:14

Waldo Cortes Acosta44/6271%TD 1/1Ctrl 0:28KD 1

Derrick Lewis8/4319%TD 0/0Ctrl 0:00

▼ Rounds

Rnd	Fighter	Sig Str	Acc	TD	Ctrl	KD
R1	Waldo Cortes Acosta	12/16	75%	1/1	0:16	—
	Derrick Lewis	4/22	18%	0/0	0:00	—

R2	Waldo Cortes Acosta	32/46	70%	0/0	0:12	1
	Derrick Lewis	4/21	19%	0/0	0:00	—

Curtis Blaydes

WIN

vs. Waldo Cortes Acosta

Noche UFC: Silva vs. Delgado • Sep 2026Heavyweight

Decision (Unanimous) • Rd 3, 5:00

Curtis Blaydes24/7432%TD 4/10Ctrl 3:38

Waldo Cortes Acosta28/9529%TD 0/0Ctrl 0:00

▼ Rounds

Rnd	Fighter	Sig Str	Acc	TD	Ctrl	KD
R1	Curtis Blaydes	7/27	26%	1/3	1:13	—
	Waldo Cortes Acosta	7/23	30%	0/0	0:00	—

R2	Curtis Blaydes	9/24	38%	2/3	1:27	—
	Waldo Cortes Acosta	9/36	25%	0/0	0:00	—

R3	Curtis Blaydes	8/23	35%	1/4	0:58	—
	Waldo Cortes Acosta	12/36	33%	0/0	0:00	—

LOSS

vs. Josh Hokit

UFC 327: Prochazka vs. Ulberg • Apr 2026Heavyweight

Decision (Unanimous) • Rd 3, 5:00

Curtis Blaydes174/30258%TD 2/7Ctrl 2:05

Josh Hokit177/29360%TD 0/1Ctrl 0:31

▼ Rounds

Rnd	Fighter	Sig Str	Acc	TD	Ctrl	KD
R1	Curtis Blaydes	58/108	54%	2/4	2:05	—
	Josh Hokit	41/80	51%	0/1	0:00	—

R2	Curtis Blaydes	56/91	62%	0/2	0:00	—
	Josh Hokit	54/86	63%	0/0	0:20	—

R3	Curtis Blaydes	60/103	58%	0/1	0:00	—
	Josh Hokit	82/127	65%	0/0	0:11	—

WIN

vs. Rizvan Kuniev

UFC Fight Night: Hill vs. Rountree Jr. • Jun 2025Heavyweight

Decision (Split) • Rd 3, 5:00

Curtis Blaydes56/9559%TD 2/15Ctrl 5:21

Rizvan Kuniev45/10842%TD 0/0Ctrl 0:26

▼ Rounds

Rnd	Fighter	Sig Str	Acc	TD	Ctrl	KD
R1	Curtis Blaydes	12/23	52%	2/9	3:01	—
	Rizvan Kuniev	8/22	36%	0/0	0:00	—

R2	Curtis Blaydes	16/39	41%	0/4	0:08	—
	Rizvan Kuniev	24/52	46%	0/0	0:04	—

R3	Curtis Blaydes	28/33	85%	0/2	2:12	—
	Rizvan Kuniev	13/34	38%	0/0	0:22	—

Common Opponents

vs. Alexander Volkov

Waldo Cortes Acosta

LOSS

UFC 328: Chimaev vs. Strickland • May 2026Heavyweight

Decision (Unanimous) • Rd 3, 5:00

Waldo Cortes Acosta54/13042%TD 0/1Ctrl 0:01

Alexander Volkov88/14362%TD 0/1Ctrl 0:03

▼ Rounds

Rnd	Fighter	Sig Str	Acc	TD	Ctrl	KD
R1	Waldo Cortes Acosta	15/33	45%	0/0	0:00	—
	Alexander Volkov	33/44	75%	0/0	0:00	—

R2	Waldo Cortes Acosta	22/47	47%	0/0	0:00	—
	Alexander Volkov	34/56	61%	0/1	0:00	—

R3	Waldo Cortes Acosta	17/50	34%	0/1	0:01	—
	Alexander Volkov	21/43	49%	0/0	0:03	—

Curtis Blaydes

WIN

UFC Fight Night: Blaydes vs. Volkov • Jun 2020Heavyweight

Decision (Unanimous) • Rd 5, 5:00

Curtis Blaydes69/9970%TD 14/25Ctrl 19:52

Alexander Volkov31/7740%TD 1/2Ctrl 0:46

▼ Rounds

Rnd	Fighter	Sig Str	Acc	TD	Ctrl	KD
R1	Curtis Blaydes	27/32	84%	5/6	4:52	—
	Alexander Volkov	1/1	100%	0/0	0:00	—

R2	Curtis Blaydes	17/24	71%	3/4	4:02	—
	Alexander Volkov	7/15	47%	0/0	0:00	—

R3	Curtis Blaydes	13/22	59%	1/4	3:53	—
	Alexander Volkov	5/13	38%	0/0	0:06	—

R4	Curtis Blaydes	5/10	50%	3/6	3:39	—
	Alexander Volkov	12/23	52%	1/2	0:26	—

R5	Curtis Blaydes	7/11	64%	2/5	3:26	—
	Alexander Volkov	6/25	24%	0/0	0:14	—

vs. Derrick Lewis

Waldo Cortes Acosta

WIN

UFC 324: Gaethje vs. Pimblett • Jan 2026Heavyweight

KO/TKO (Punches) • Rd 2, 3:14

Waldo Cortes Acosta44/6271%TD 1/1Ctrl 0:28KD 1

Derrick Lewis8/4319%TD 0/0Ctrl 0:00

▼ Rounds

Rnd	Fighter	Sig Str	Acc	TD	Ctrl	KD
R1	Waldo Cortes Acosta	12/16	75%	1/1	0:16	—
	Derrick Lewis	4/22	18%	0/0	0:00	—

R2	Waldo Cortes Acosta	32/46	70%	0/0	0:12	1
	Derrick Lewis	4/21	19%	0/0	0:00	—

Curtis Blaydes

LOSS

UFC Fight Night: Blaydes vs. Lewis • Feb 2021Heavyweight

KO/TKO (Punch) • Rd 2, 1:26

Curtis Blaydes28/5254%TD 0/3Ctrl 0:15

Derrick Lewis7/2330%TD 0/0Ctrl 0:02KD 1

▼ Rounds

Rnd	Fighter	Sig Str	Acc	TD	Ctrl	KD
R1	Curtis Blaydes	26/44	59%	0/1	0:05	—
	Derrick Lewis	5/20	25%	0/0	0:00	—

R2	Curtis Blaydes	2/8	25%	0/2	0:10	—
	Derrick Lewis	2/3	67%	0/0	0:02	1

vs. Sergei Pavlovich

Waldo Cortes Acosta

LOSS

UFC Fight Night: Walker vs. Zhang • Aug 2025Heavyweight

Decision (Unanimous) • Rd 3, 5:00

Waldo Cortes Acosta45/11738%TD 0/0Ctrl 0:00

Sergei Pavlovich61/13346%TD 0/3Ctrl 0:08

▼ Rounds

Rnd	Fighter	Sig Str	Acc	TD	Ctrl	KD
R1	Waldo Cortes Acosta	11/34	32%	0/0	0:00	—
	Sergei Pavlovich	9/28	32%	0/1	0:06	—

R2	Waldo Cortes Acosta	20/37	54%	0/0	0:00	—
	Sergei Pavlovich	22/43	51%	0/0	0:00	—

R3	Waldo Cortes Acosta	14/46	30%	0/0	0:00	—
	Sergei Pavlovich	30/62	48%	0/2	0:02	—

Curtis Blaydes

LOSS

UFC Fight Night: Pavlovich vs. Blaydes • Apr 2023Heavyweight

KO/TKO (Punches) • Rd 1, 3:08

Curtis Blaydes14/5625%TD 0/1Ctrl 0:00

Sergei Pavlovich36/8542%TD 0/0Ctrl 0:02KD 1

▼ Rounds

Rnd	Fighter	Sig Str	Acc	TD	Ctrl	KD
R1	Curtis Blaydes	14/56	25%	0/1	0:00	—
	Sergei Pavlovich	36/85	42%	0/0	0:02	1

Analysis Summary

Striking Volume: Waldo Cortes Acosta is the busier striker, landing 4.9 significant strikes per minute vs 4.0. Their opponent absorbs 2.7 strikes per minute on average — Waldo Cortes Acosta's output should find a target.

Grappling: Curtis Blaydes shoots at 47% accuracy against Waldo Cortes Acosta's 70% defense — Waldo Cortes Acosta should keep it standing.

Control: Curtis Blaydes controls 4:09 per fight on average vs 0:59 — sustained control shifts rounds and drains cardio.

Finish Threat: Waldo Cortes Acosta finishes 50% of wins (50% KO/TKO, 0% sub). Curtis Blaydes finishes 53% of wins (53% KO/TKO, 0% sub).

Fight Length: Waldo Cortes Acosta's fights average 11:31 vs 9:28 for Curtis Blaydes. If this reaches the championship rounds, Waldo Cortes Acosta's conditioning history becomes a factor.

Data through UFC 333: Volkanovski vs. Evloev (Oct 24, 2026)