UFC's All-Time Leader in Knockout Wins Ties Undesirable Record With UFC 324 Loss

Already a UFC record holder, Derrick Lewis is now tied for a significantly less-desirable piece of promotional history following his loss at UFC 324.

The UFC made its highly-anticipated debut on Paramount last Saturday when the promotion kicked off its 2026 schedule with UFC 324, where Justin Gaethje and Paddy Pimblett jumped out into an early lead for “Fight of the Year” honors when they threw down in a main event that saw Gaethje win the interim lightweight title via unanimous decision.

The main card featured some other significant results for several UFC weight classes, and Waldo Cortes-Acosta put himself in a strong position to make a title push this year when he stopped Lewis with strikes in the second round of their heavyweight bout.

Derrick Lewis Ties Andrei Arlovski For Most KO Losses In UFC History

A longtime fan favorite for both his unique personality and his penchant for separating his UFC opponents from consciousness, Lewis is the promotion’s all-time leader in knockout victories with 16 wins coming via strikes.

Derrick Lewis (blue gloves) before the fight against Waldo Cortes Acosta (red gloves) during UFC 324 at T-Mobile Arena. | Stephen R. Sylvanie-Imagn Images

“The Black Beast” has been a member of the UFC roster since 2014 and previously challenged for the promotion’s undisputed and interim heavyweight belts, falling short on both occasions against Daniel Cormier and Ciryl Gane.

Lewis entered UFC 324 on a two-fight win streak after stopping Rodrigo Nascimento and Tallison Teixeira in his only outings in 2024 and 2025 to extend his record-number of knockouts, but after UFC 324 the 40-year-old is now also tied for the promotional record in losses via KO/TKO (h/t La Sueur).

Andrei Arlovski during UFC 303 at T-Mobile Arena. | Mark J. Rebilas-Imagn Images

Lewis has been stopped with strikes eight times across his lengthy UFC career, which brings him level with former UFC Heavyweight Champion Andrei Arlovski, who dropped a unanimous decision to Cortes-Acosta in one of his final UFC fights in 2024.

Will Waldo Cortes-Acosta Fight for UFC Gold in 2026?

The record-tying loss to Cortes-Acosta may well have eliminated any chance of Lewis getting another heavyweight title shot (outside of a possible short-notice opportunity), but it did establish “Salsa Boy” as a legit title contender following a strong year in 2025.

Ranked three spots ahead of Lewis at #5 in the official UFC heavyweight rankings going into UFC 324, Cortes-Acosta joined the promotion off of Dana White’s Contender Series in 2022 and brought his undefeated record to 9-0 before he dropped a decision to Marcos Rogerio de Lima in his third UFC outing.

Waldo Cortes-Acosta (red gloves) reacts after the fight against Derrick Lewis (blue gloves) during UFC 324 at T-Mobile Arena. | Stephen R. Sylvanie-Imagn Images

The 34-year-old rebounded with five-straight wins before dropping another decision to former interim title challenger Sergei Pavlovich in August, but he closed out the year with first-round knockouts of Ante Delija and Shamil Gazeiv and now impressively holds a 5-1 record dating back to last March following another stoppage-win over Lewis last Saturday.

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