Waldo Cortes-Acosta wants legacy, heavyweight title after UFC Qatar

Waldo Cortes-Acosta met the media Saturday after his win over Shamil Gaziev at UFC Fight Night 265.

Cortes-Acosta (16-2 MMA, 9-2 UFC) knocked out Gaziev (14-2 MMA, 3-2 UFC) in the first round on the main card at ABHA Arena in Doha, Qatar. In the process, he not only won his second UFC bonus, he became a bit of a cult hero.

Cortes-Acosta (16-2 MMA, 9-2 UFC) fought just three weeks ago in Las Vegas, where he suffered a first-round eye poke against Ante Delija that he had to recover from before a knockout just moments later. To fight Gaziev, he stepped up on just two days' notice and flew to the Middle East to step in for Serghei Spivac.

"I accepted because I want to make a name with my legacy," Cortes-Acosta told UFC.com after the fight. "I want to give everyone a sample of what I can do at heavyweight. The UFC signed me to fight. I want to fight everywhere with anyone. I don't care. I want to fight."

Cortes-Acosta has fought five times already in 2025 and gone 4-1. A decision loss to Sergei Pavlovich in August is his only setback the past eight fights.

And remarkably, he said he wants to get one more in during the calendar year – and used his time on the microphone in the cage to challenge the UFC to get him a fight for its final event of 2025 in Las Vegas.

Barring that, he thinks he's even ready for a shot at heavyweight champion Tom Aspinall, who presumably will run back his no contest with Ciryl Gane in early 2026.

"If Tom Aspinall doesn't to fight Ciryl Gane because of the eye (incident) or something, I'm here for him," Cortes-Acosta said. "… If he doesn't feel comfortable with the rematch, give me the shot. I want to fight next month, Dec. 13, for more of my legacy and my history. I'm ready for everything."

Check out Cortes-Acosta's post-fight interview in the video below.

This article originally appeared on MMA Junkie: Waldo Cortes-Acosta wants legacy, heavyweight title after UFC Qatar