Curtis Blaydes Wins Unanimous Decision, Ties Fourth in UFC Heavyweight Wins
Curtis Blaydes returned to the win column on Saturday with a unanimous decision over Waldo Cortes-Acosta in a heavyweight bout at Noche UFC. All three judges scored it 29-28 at Desert Diamond Arena in Glendale, Arizona, a result the UFC said tied Blaydes for fourth in heavyweight wins in company history.
Blaydes moved to 20-6 with one no contest overall and 15-6 in the UFC. Cortes-Acosta dropped to 17-4 MMA and 10-4 inside the Octagon.
The No. 6-ranked heavyweight entered as a betting underdog against the No. 5 man in the division. Cortes-Acosta had been stopped only on the scorecards in his UFC career and came in off a three-fight knockout run over Ante Delija, Shamil Gaziev, and Derrick Lewis before a May decision loss to Alexander Volkov.
Blaydes, 35, needed the night after a unanimous-decision loss to Josh Hokit in April at UFC 327. That Fight of the Night war in Miami was the only decision on his six-loss ledger, with the rest coming by knockout or TKO.
Wrestling decided this one. Official stats showed Blaydes landing 4 of 10 takedowns, while Cortes-Acosta did not attempt a single shot over 15 minutes.
The Dominican striker still found the target more often on the feet. Cortes-Acosta landed 28 of 95 significant strikes to Blaydes’ 24 of 74, a 29.5 percent clip against 32.4 percent for the American.
Total strikes were nearly even. Blaydes held a 32-of-82 edge to Cortes-Acosta’s 30 of 97, with neither man scoring a knockdown or attempting a submission.
Referee Dan Miragliotta oversaw a fight that never turned into a brawl. Blaydes, listed at 260 pounds to Cortes-Acosta’s 262, used the first round to put the favorite on his back, work to side control and half guard, and land elbows while the crowd began to stir.
The middle five minutes stayed slower. Cortes-Acosta found the jab in open space, Blaydes answered with low kicks, and both men drew boos as the exchanges came one punch at a time.
Cortes-Acosta had his best moments late. He stacked jabs in the third, landed a clean right hand, and forced Blaydes to reset after escaping a grappling exchange with about two minutes left.
It was not enough to flip two scorecards. Blaydes’ control time and completed takedowns gave the judges a 29-28 path even as Cortes-Acosta out-landed him in significant strikes.
The historical marker is what the UFC highlighted. With his 15th promotional win, Blaydes moved alongside Junior dos Santos on the all-time heavyweight list, behind only Andrei Arlovski, Derrick Lewis, and Frank Mir.
That company still sits below the title picture. Tom Aspinall remains the undisputed champion, Ciryl Gane holds the interim belt, and names such as Volkov, Sergei Pavlovich, and Hokit remain ahead of both men who fought Saturday.
For Cortes-Acosta, it is a second straight decision loss after the Volkov fight and a stalled climb that had included three knockouts in 12 weeks. “Salsa Boy” has never been finished, but he could not keep Blaydes off his hips when the wrestling started.
For Blaydes, the night restored a simple formula that made him a perennial contender. When he wrestles, he is still a problem at 265 pounds, even if the striking numbers stay close and the crowd wants more fireworks.
Noche UFC continued Saturday on Paramount+ with Manon Fiorot vs. Alexa Grasso, a Brandon Moreno-Joseph Morales co-main event, and a Jean Silva-Jose Delgado headliner, while Blaydes leaves Glendale with his 15th UFC win and a hold on his place in the ranked heavyweight mix.