At UFC Qatar, Waldo Cortes-Acosta delivered a clear jab at Tom Aspinall.
In late October, the Briton was forced to withdraw from his bout with Ciryl Gane at UFC 321 after an accidental poke to the eye.
A week later, Waldo Cortes-Acosta picked up a win over Ante Delija at UFC Vegas 110, finishing him after dealing with an eye poke of his own.
Now he added another strong performance to his record at UFC Qatar, continuing his rise up the heavyweight rankings.
Waldo Cortes-Acosta steps in late to stop Shamil Gaziev
Shamil Gaziev had originally been scheduled to take on Serghei Spivac in the UFC’s debut event in Doha.
But just three days before the fight, Spivac withdrew, and Waldo Cortes-Acosta stepped in as a late replacement.
‘Salsa Boy’ arrived after an 18-hour flight, weighing in at 265lbs ahead of UFC Qatar.
The fight itself did not last long. Gaziev’s only career loss up to that point had come against Jairzinho Rozenstruik back in March 2024, but this one was over quickly.
Cortes-Acosta finished the bout inside two minutes, knocking out Gaziev just 82 seconds into their clash at the Ali Bin Hamad al-Attiyah Arena.
Afterwards, he celebrated by wearing an eye patch over the same eye that had been injured a few weeks earlier.
Many took it as a shot at Aspinall, as Jon Jones had also added an eye patch to his social media profile after UFC 321 in response to Aspinall’s injury at UFC 321.
Waldo Cortes-Acosta calls for Tom Aspinall bout
Cortes-Acosta had already called out the Briton after fighting through an eye poke at UFC Vegas 110.
Speaking earlier this month, he said: “It’s for him being the champion and [he] quit because of the poke in the eye, too.
“[Thirdly] because [Delija is] his training partner and then I knock him out in the first round.
“[What] happens – me and Tom Aspinall fight?
“Because he says, Tom Aspinall, [Delija] is one of the best…
“What happens with Tom Aspinall fighting Waldo Cortes?”
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