Waldo Cortes-Acosta continued his recent win streak with an emphatic knockout win over Derrick Lewis at UFC 324 on Saturday.
After avoiding some wild haymakers from Lewis early, Cortes-Acosta stayed composed until he saw an opening for a counter punch that scored a knockdown. From there, Cortes-Acosta just unloaded bombs until Lewis just crumbled under the weight of the pressure with the fight coming to an end at 3:14 in the second round.
Cortes-Acosta has now scored three wins in a row with an 8-1 run in his past nine fights.
“Not surprised at all,” Cortes-Acosta said about his performance. “I’m very grateful and thankful for the opportunity to fight him. I want Curtis Blaydes. He’s talking a lot of crap and I need to shut him up.”
Cortes-Acosta was quick to press forward but he remained wary not to overextend himself dealing with Lewis’ immense power. Lewis was very flat-footed but still launched a couple of early kicks that definitely got Cortes-Acosta’s attention.
Lewis was struggling to close the distance on Cortes-Acosta, who was quick to avoid power punches and then reset in the center again. Cortes-Acosta eventually caught a lazy kick from Lewis before dumping him on the ground before allowing his opponent to stand again.
Lewis kept swinging huge, heavy shots but he was coming up short with every flurry. But Cortes-Acosta wasn’t making him pay either, choosing to avoid strikes but not really firing back with much of his own.
An aggressive start in round two from Lewis actually led to Cortes-Acosta stinging him with a hard counter shot that landed clean. Lewis was definitely rattled from the punch but Cortes-Acosta never really made him pay as he circled away to avoid a possible haymaker coming back at him from the knockout king.
Cortes-Acosta decided to then fire out a slick left jab that kept popping Lewis in the mush as his output increased. Lewis then launched a pair of huge overhand punches but Cortes-Acosta avoided both shots and then cracked “The Black Beast” with a shot of his own.
Lewis fell to the floor and Cortes-Acosta followed him to the canvas where he just started unloading bombs until his opponent fell flat and referee Jason Herzog had no choice but to stop the contest.
With three knockout wins in a row and a willingness to face anyone and everyone the UFC throws at him, Cortes-Acosta appears primed to finally get one he wants with his callout of Curtis Blaydes, who has been out of action recovering from a knee injury.
