Less than three days away from showtime, a pivotal UFC Qatar matchup has been shaken up.
Per a first report from ESPN Deportes’ Carlos Contreras Legaspi , Serghei Spivac has withdrawn from his planned main
card matchup versus Shamil Gaziev. Fortunately, the promotion has already found a replacement for him in Wald0 Cortes-Acosta, an even higher ranked fighter. Currently, no reason has been provided for Spivac’s withdrawal.
Despite the change, this is still a solid Heavyweight scrap. Cortes-Acosta will be competing for the fifth time in 2025, which is highly unusual especially among the big men. He’s won three of his last four against a quality class of competition, most recently knocking out Ante Delija after suffering a nasty eye poke. Currently ranked at No. 6, “Salsa Boy” is putting a lot on the line by traveling halfway across the world with no training camp.
On the bright side, he doesn’t have to cut weight!
As for Gaziev, his opportunity just grew larger. The 35-year-old Russian won two in a row and was looking to break into the Top 10 originally, but now he could jump all the way up Cortes-Acosta’s position with an impressive showing. 3-1 in the UFC overall, the knockout artist could fully rebound from his Jairzinho Rozenstruik defeat with a victory on Saturday night (Nov. 22, 2025). Given the short-notice circumstances, who takes home the victory?
To see who else is fighting at UFC Qatar click here.
