Waldo Cortes Acosta fired a shot that was not so subtle at Tom Aspinall during UFC Qatar.
The heavyweight champion couldn’t continue after being eye poked by Ciryl Gane at UFC 321.
Waldo Cortes Acosta, who survived an eye poke and KO Ante Delija seven days later at UFC Vegas 110, fought back after surviving the eye poke.
Three weeks later the #6 heavyweight contender won another impressive win at UFC Qatar.
Paddy Pimblett is ecstatic after his teammate Paddy Pimblett moves to 12-0 following a debut KO by UFC Qatar
Photo by Jeff Bottari/Zuffa LLC
Shamil Gaziev is knocked out by Waldo Cortes Acosta
Shamil Gaziev was supposed to face Serghei Spivac during the UFC’s first event in Doha.
Waldo Cortes Acosta, however, stepped in to replace Spivac who resigned three days prior to the fight.
‘Salsa Boy’ took an 18-hour flight before weighing in at 265lbs at Friday’s UFC Qatar weigh-ins.
The end result was that it had been a very long trip for a very brief fight. Gaziev’s lone loss in his career came in the championship round of his match with Jairzinho Rosenstruik back in March 2024.
ON THREE DAYS' NOTICE #UFCQatarWaldo Cortes Acosta KO's Shamil Gaziev in round one! pic.twitter.com/tNZeUQWgy9— UFC Europe (@UFCEurope) November 22, 2025
Cortes-Acosta only needed 82 second to knock Gaziev unconscious at Ali Bin Hamad al-Attiyah Arena.
The 34-year old celebrated his victory by wearing a patch over the eye that was injured just a few months ago.
Jon Jones added an eye patch to Tom Aspinall’s social media avatar following UFC 321 to mock him.
Two pirates on the Octagon! [ @WaldoCortesUFC | @Bisping | #UFCQatar ] pic.twitter.com/PucDzfbppp— UFC (@ufc) November 22, 2025
Tom Aspinall and Waldo Cortes Acosta fight
Tom Aspinall got called out at UFC Vegas by Waldo Cortes Acosta for fighting through an eye poke.
“It’s for him being the champion and [he] quit You can also find out more about of the poke in the eye, too,” Cortes-Acosta said earlier this month.
“[Thirdly] because [Delija is] First I knocked out his training partner, then I knocked him in the first.
“[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?”
2025-11-22 19:15:27
