UFC 324: Waldo Cortes-Acosta vs Derrick Lewis Preview & Prediction
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Don't blink during this heavyweight matchup, as Waldo Cortes-Acosta takes on Derrick Lewis in a match up that is unlikely to require the judge's scorecards.
Waldo Cortes-Acosta vs Derrick Lewis facts
What time are Waldo Cortes-Acosta and Derrick Lewis expected to walk out?
Where is UFC 324? T-Mobile Arena, Nevada, USA
Where can I get tickets for UFC 324? Click here for the latest ticket information for UFC 324
What TV channel is UFC 324 on? UK – TNT Sports Box Office / USA – Not televised
Where can I stream UFC 324? UK – TNT Sports subscribers who have paid for the fight can stream the event online via the TNT Sports website and discovery+ / USA – Paramount+ & UFC Fight Pass
UFC 324: Gaethje vs Pimblett main card
Justin Gaethje vs Paddy Pimblett (Lightweight)
Sean O'Malley vs Song Yadong (Bantamweight)
Waldo Cortes-Acosta vs Derrick Lewis (Heavyweight)
Natalia Silva vs Rose Namajunas (Women’s Flyweight)
Arnold Allen vs Jean Silva (Featherweight)
UFC 324: Gaethje vs Pimblett prelims
Umar Nurmagomedov vs Deiveson Figueiredo (Bantamweight)
Ateba Gautier vs Andrey Pulyaev (Middleweight)
Nikita Krylov vs Modestas Bukauskas (Light Heavyweight)
Alex Perez vs Charles Johnson (Flyweight)
Michael Johnson vs Alexander Hernandez (Lightweight)
Josh Hokit vs Denzel Freeman (Heavyweight)
Ricky Turcios vs Cameron Smotherman (Bantamweight)
Adam Fugitt vs Ty Miller (Welterweight)
Waldo Cortes-Acosta: Can "Salsa Boy" make an undeniable case for a title shot at the expense of one of the division's mainstays?
With a UFC record of 9-2 since joining the promotion, it's probably time to start taking former professional baseball player, Waldo Cortes-Acosta (16-2), seriously as a heavyweight contender. While he was initially known as somewhat of a decision merchant, "Salsa Boy" would appear to be one win away from securing a title shot at heavyweight courtesy of brutal back-to-back knockouts over Ante Delija and Shamil Gaziev in his two most recent outings, taking out the latter on less than a week's notice. Cortes-Acosta has only lost to Sergei Pavlovich since 2023, a fighter who is completely unmarketable as a title challenger for Tom Aspinall after getting flatlined in just over a minute during his ill-fated crack at the currently sidelined champion.
Derrick Lewis: "The Black Beast" looks to add another knockout to a record already strewn with them
Owner of the most knockouts in UFC history, Derrick Lewis (29-12, 1 NC) might just be the hardest hitter in the promotion's history. With wins over Francis Ngannou, Alexander Volkov, and Curtis Blaydes, the one-time heavyweight title challenger is renowned for the murderous power he carries in his fists, as well as some of the nastiest ground-and-pound the sport of MMA has ever seen. However, having turned 40 last February, the book is out on Lewis at this point in proceedings; his freakish power is enough to send any contender outside of the top 10 to the shadow realm, but he typically comes up short against anybody with any semblance of elite skills.
Waldo Cortes-Acosta vs Derrick Lewis prediction
As with all Lewis fights, there's a possibility that he lands a cartoonish right hand out of nowhere to send Cortes-Acosta to the shadow realm in a fight that he's losing every second of right up until he isn't. Just ask Alexander Volkov or Curtis Blaydes how their contests with "The Black Beast" ended.
Unfortunately for Lewis, that's pretty much his only route to victory in high level MMA fights as of 2026. The Texas native will typically throw something comically acrobatic in the opening exchanges before plodding around the Octagon for the remainder of the round, doing little more than glare menacingly as he gets pot-shotted at range.
By contrast, Cortes-Acosta's loss to Pavlovich is likely an indicator of his ceiling within the sparse heavyweight division, but that still puts him leaps and bounds above 90% of the weight class. The Dominican Republic native is surprisingly fast and nimble for a heavyweight of his stature, with his most recent results proving that he also has the punching power and finishing instincts to score stoppages against slower, less dynamic heavyweights.
It would be the most Lewis thing of all time to nuke Cortes-Acosta out cold and send the heavyweight division into an even deeper state of stagnation, but don't count on it. "Salsa Boy" either peppers him at range across three rounds or scores a stoppage to underline his credentials as the next logical title challenger at 265 pounds.
Prediction: Waldo Cortes-Acosta to win by TKO
