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UFC Qatar fighter scores KO on 3 days' notice, asks to fight on last UFC card of 2025

"Salsa Boy" wants to squeeze in one more fight before the end of the year.
Drew Beaupre|
(Zuffa LLC)

Waldo Cortes-Acosta scored his second knockout of the month after stepping in on extremely short-notice at UFC Qatar.

The UFC's first event in Qatar was at full capacity with 14 matchups when fight week started, but that slate looked to be in jeopardy when Serghei Spivac withdrew from a heavyweight bout with Shamil Gaziev.

That set the stage for Cortes-Acosta to step in on just three days' notice after he also competed earlier this month, and the Dominican took full advantage of the opportunity by knocking out Gaziev in the opening round.

Waldo Cortes Acosta Floors Shamil Gaziev At UFC Qatar

Coming into 2025 on a three-fight win streak, Cortes-Acosta looked close to securing a title shot when he extended that winning run to five with victories over Ryan Spann and fellow top-ranked heavyweight contender Spivac.

READ MORE: UFC Qatar free live stream results & highlights for Arman Tsarukyan vs. Dan Hooker

That run came to an end in August when he dropped a decision to Sergei Pavlovich, but Cortes-Acosta returned to the win column on November 1 when he stopped Ante Delija in the first round following a controversial stoppage due to an eye poke.

"Salsa Boy" was slightly favored to get the better of Gaziev even though he was making an extremely quick turnaround and coming in on short notice, and the 34-year-old wasted no time before he started swinging with fight-ending intentions.

Gaziev was able to recover after initially being stunned, but Cortes-Acosta kept up the pressure until he connected with a right hand that put his opponent flat on his back.

The #11-ranked Gaziev came into UFC Qatar following back-to-back wins, and the knockout-loss to Cortes-Acosta marks just the second setback of his professional career after the 35-year-old also fell to Jairzinho Rozenstruik in a UFC Fight Night main event last year.

READ MORE: UFC newcomer runs through opponent for record-setting finish at UFC Qatar

Cortes-Acosta may not rise from his current #6 ranking with his latest win, but he does have quite a bit of momentum following back-to-back knockouts and called for another quick turnaround on the UFC's final card of 2025 on December 13.

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Drew Beaupre
DREW BEAUPRE

Drew is an MMA writer that regularly watches regional events in addition to major promotions such as the UFC, PFL, Bellator, and ONE Championship. He joined MMA Knockout when it was founded in 2023.

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