Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) Heavyweight sluggers Derrick Lewis vs. Waldo Cortes-Acosta will throw down this weekend (Sat., Jan. 24, 2026) inside T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada for UFC 324.
For a long time, Lewis was among the most active Heavyweights on the roster. For years, Lewis was always in the title mix regardless of a recent loss or two, because “The Black Beast” would rebound and put together a win streak within 18 months. In the last two years, however, Lewis has only fought once each year, some evidence that the 40-year-old veteran is feeling his age.
That said, he won both of those fights via knockout, so maybe the patience is paying off!
Meanwhile, Cortes-Acosta lived up to the “Black Beast” of old in 2025, fighting five times and winning four of those bouts. Recently, “Salsa Boy” has really learned to sit down on his punches to great effect! He won three fights via knockout after having previously established himself as a bit of a point fighter.
Let’s take a closer look at the betting odds and strategic keys for each athlete:
Lewis vs. Cortes-Acosta Betting Odds
- Derrick Lewis victory: +240
- Derrick Lewis via TKO/KO/DQ: TBD
- Derrick Lewis via submission: TBD
- Derrick Lewis via decision: TBD
- Waldo Cortes-Acosta victory: -330
- Waldo Cortes-Acosta via TKO/KO/DQ: TBD
- Waldo Cortes-Acosta via submission: TBD
- Waldo Cortes-Acosta via decision: TBD
- Odds via FanDuel Sportsbook
How Lewis Wins
Lewis is a simple fighter. His great asset — the reason he’s the all-time UFC knockout king — is that he can throw absolute haymakers while dead tired. At Heavyweight, almost everybody gasses badly eventually, so that’s a winning strategy much of the time!
I’ll confess that I hate writing strategy for “The Black Beast,” a man who has fought in the UFC 30 times and never varied up his approach. Lewis swangs, he bangs, and he occasionally tries his trip takedown thing. There is very little variation, nor does Lewis really have the depth of skill needed to switch it up much.
Against Cortes-Acosta, Lewis will get the boxing match he desires. It becomes a question of whether Lewis can land a massive bomb and how Cortes-Acosta will absorb the blow. Ideally, Lewis comes out aggressive, doesn’t give Cortes-Acosta an easy time establishing his jab, and is able to find the target early while he’s blasting at full power.
How Cortes-Acosta Wins
Cortes-Acosta is a solid boxer with great physical attributes. He can maintain a higher pace than most in the division, hits plenty hard, and has an absolute brick of a chin.
Cortes-Acosta’s best weapon is the jab, and it should really separate him and Lewis on the feet. Trading power punches with Lewis right away could certainly pay off with another quick finish, but that’s a dangerous game to play. Instead, Cortes-Acosta can dictate the exchanges by sticking Lewis with the jab, interrupting Lewis’ attempts to swing big and forcing him into a boxing match rather than a brawl.
Additionally, Cortes-Acosta should be attacking the easy targets that have proven to work well against Lewis. There’s plenty of footage available of Lewis absolutely hating his life as his opponent’s punch him in the belly or kick him in the leg. Follow the jab with a right to the body or a calf kick, and it will land! Once Lewis is breathing having and walking gingerly, Cortes-Acosta can feel more confident about stepping into the pocket with bad intentions.
Lewis vs. Cortes-Acosta Prediction
While Derrick Lewis could absolutely win this fight, there’s no real reason to pick him outright. Cortes-Acosta is both much better and significantly younger. Unlike Tallison Teixeira, this is not a green prospect being rushed into a big fight — “Salsa Boy” has already thrown down versus multiple top-ranked Heavyweights.
Could a Lewis bomb detonate and flatten the Puerto Rican? Of course. Seeing as Cortes-Acosta shrugged off Sergei Pavlovich bombs with little issue, Lewis’ knockout threat is less serious than usual.
