UFC Fight Night: Waldo Cortes-Acosta vs Curtis Blaydes Preview & Prediction

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A heavyweight main card fight asks whether the division’s old establishment can hold the line, as Waldo Cortes-Acosta takes on the old-school Curtis Blaydes.

Waldo Cortes-Acosta vs Curtis Blaydes facts

What time are Waldo Cortes-Acosta and Curtis Blaydes expected to walk out? 12 September 2026 at 10:45 pm

Where is UFC Fight Night: Silva vs Delgado? Desert Diamond Arena, Glendale, USA

Where can I get tickets for UFC Fight Night: Silva vs Delgado? Click here for the latest ticket information for UFC Fight Night 288

What TV channel is UFC Fight Night: Silva vs Delgado on? UK – TNT Sports / USA – Paramount

Where can I stream UFC Fight Night: Silva vs Delgado? UK – TNT Sports can stream the event online via the TNT Sports website and HBO Max / USA – Paramount+ & UFC Fight Pass

UFC Fight Night: Silva vs Delgado main card

Jean Silva vs Jose Delgado (Featherweight)

Brandon Moreno vs Joseph Morales (Flyweight)

Tommy McMillen vs Marwan Rahiki (Featherweight)

Manon Fiorot vs Alexa Grasso (Women's Flyweight)

Waldo Cortes-Acosta vs Curtis Blaydes (Heavyweight)

David Martinez vs Dan Ige (Bantamweight)

UFC Fight Night: Silva vs Delgado prelims

Tim Elliott vs Edgar Chairez (Flyweight)

Ignacio Bahamondes vs Muslim Salikhov (Welterweight)

Yousri Belgaroui vs Djorden Santos (Middleweight)

Drakkar Klose vs Thomas Gantt (Lightweight)

Rafa Garcia vs Rong Zhu (Lightweight)

Sean King vs Jessie Rosas (Featherweight)

JJ Aldrich vs Regina Tarin (Women's Flyweight)

Waldo Cortes-Acosta: “Salsa Boy” fights close to home on the back of a big year

Waldo Cortes-Acosta (17-3) has gone 10-3 in the UFC in a short period and collected back-to-back Performance of the Night bonuses for first-round knockouts of Ante Delija and Shamil Gaziev, before dismantling Derrick Lewis in January. A former pro boxer, the 34-year-old has the sharper and more varied hands of the two facing off this weekend, and crucially he has never been finished – all three of his defeats have come to the judges. The most recent was a decision against Alexander Volkov in May, his second loss to a top-five opponent.

Curtis Blaydes: “Razor” holds records nobody else in the division can touch

Curtis Blaydes (19-6, 1 NC) owns the UFC heavyweight record for takedowns landed with 66, and the single-fight divisional record with the fourteen he put on Volkov in one night. The 35-year-old is 2-3 across his last five, a KO of Jailton Almeida and a split decision over Rizvan Kuniev sitting between stoppage losses to Pavlovich and Aspinall and a decision defeat to Josh Hokit in April. That last one made history of its own, the pair landed 354 significant strikes between them, in the best heavyweight fight the promotion has ever seen.

Waldo Cortes-Acosta vs Curtis Blaydes prediction

The common opponents tell the story better than the rankings do. Derrick Lewis knocked out Blaydes in 2021, Cortes-Acosta took him apart inside two rounds in January. Sergei Pavlovich starched Blaydes out in a single round, Cortes Acosta went the full fight with him and lost on the cards. Across 20 professional fights, the Dominican has never been stopped, while Blayde has been finished three times.

Blaydes still has the wrestling, and nobody in heavyweight history has used it more. However, he isn’t using it. Against Hokit he fought a strangely passive fight, waiting to be dragged into a firefight rather than imposing his own will and the grappling that built his career. Whether that was a choice or the wrestling thought has now eroded will determine the questions of this fight.

Then there’s the mileage. These two are only a year apart, but in terms of fighting years, Blaydes has spent a decade sharing the cage with killers and took enormous punishment in both the Hokit and Kuniev fights. That doesn’t just wash out at 35. Cortes-Acosta’s boxing base, distance management and volume should carry the rounds here. He can make poor decisions at times and Blaydes still retains a decent amount of power, but the trade favours the fresher, more youthful fighting aged man.

Prediction: Waldo Cortes-Acosta to win