UFC Fight Night 263: Waldo Cortes-Acosta vs Ante Delija Preview & Prediction
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Heavyweights serve as the co-main event of the evening, with Waldo Cortes-Acosta tasked with defending his spot in the rankings from the upstart, Ante Delija.
Waldo Cortes-Acosta vs Ante Delija facts
What time are Waldo Cortes-Acosta and Ante Delija expected to walk out?
Where is UFC Fight Night 263: Garcia vs Onama? UFC Apex, Enterprise, USA
Where can I get tickets for UFC Fight Night 263: Garcia vs Onama? Click here for the latest ticket information for UFC Fight Night 263
What TV channel is UFC Fight Night 263: Garcia vs Onama on? UK – TNT Sports / USA – ESPN+
Where can I stream UFC Fight Night 263: Garcia vs Onama? UK – TNT Sports subscribers can stream the event online via the TNT Sports website and discovery+ / USA – ESPN+ & UFC Fight Pass
UFC Fight Night 263: Garcia vs Onama main card
Steve Garcia vs David Onama (Featherweight)
Waldo Cortes-Acosta vs Ante Delija (Heavyweight)
Jeremiah Wells vs Themba Gorimbo (Welterweight)
Isaac Dulgarian vs Yadier del Valle (Featherweight)
Charles Radtke vs Daniel Frunza (Welterweight)
Allan Nascimento vs Cody Durden (Flyweight)
UFC Fight Night 263: Garcia vs Onama prelims
Billy Elekana vs Kevin Christian (Light Heavyweight)
Timothy Cuamba vs Lee Chang-ho (Bantamweight)
Donte Johnson vs Sedriques Dumas (Middleweight)
Ketlen Vieira vs Norma Dumont (Women’s Bantamweight)
Alice Ardelean vs Montserrat Ruiz (Women’s Strawweight)
Philip Rowe vs Ko Seok-hyun (Welterweight)
Talita Alencar vs Ariane Carnelossi (Women’s Strawweight)
Waldo Cortes-Acosta: "Salsa Boy" looks to rebound from a disappointing loss to Sergei Pavlovich
Turning in a 7-2 record since debuting in 2022, a five fight win streak at 265 pounds had Waldo Cortes-Acosta (14-2) flirting with heavyweight title contention before he ran into Sergei Pavlovich in August. “Salsa Boy” lost a clear cut decision to the Russian top contender in Saudi Arabia, placing any title talks on hold for the time being. While he has stoppage victories over the likes of Ryan Spann and Lukasz Brzeski, Cortes Acosta is largely a point fighter, a man who leans on his ability to edge the striking exchanges over three rounds to carry him to victory.
Ante Delija: "Walking Thunder" returns off the back of a POTN winning debut
Things couldn’t have gone much better for Ante Delija (26-6) in his UFC debut against Marcin Tybura last month. Not only did “Walking Trouble” walk away with the “W” in his long awaited UFC debut, the Croatian KO artist earned revenge over a man with a victory over him while pocketing a tidy Performance of the Night bonus for his troubles. A well travelled veteran of the sport who has fought in KSW, Rizin, and PFL, Delija is also known as a valued training partner of current UFC heavyweight kingpin, Tom Aspinall.
Waldo Cortes-Acosta vs Ante Delija prediction
It’s remarkable what a difference a few months in the heavyweight division can make.
Cortes-Acosta was being touted by many as a dark horse contender at heavyweight; a damning indictment of the division, if ever there was one. However, that was before his extremely uninspiring loss to Sergei Pavlovich in August, a defeat that seemingly established a clear ceiling for him as a contender. As such, he finds himself as the underdog against a man with just a single UFC victory under his belt.
On the other side of the cage, Delija looked excellent against established gatekeeper, Marcin Tybura, exhibiting excellent hand speed and relentless finishing instincts on the way to a debut TKO victory. While it’s easy to dismiss a win over “Tybur,” the Pole typically only loses to the upper echelon of the division, a solid indicator that Delija has what it takes to be competitive with Cortes-Acosta at a bare minimum.
In fact, there’s a strong argument to be made that he’s likely to go one better. Cortes-Acosta may have survived to a decision against the brutish Pavlovich, but the Russian is a shadow of the murderous KO artist he once was. Even when throwing at a conservative clip, he was able to consistently land clean against “Salsa Boy”, something that should set the alarm bells ringing in the face of an aggressive pressure striker like “Walking Trouble.”
The tentative pick is for Delija to blitz Cortes-Acosta early for the first round KO, but he’s likely to have his hand raised even if this one does make it to the scorecards.
Prediction: Ante Delija to win by TKO
