With Manel Kape vs. Matheus Nicolau falling off the UFC Vegas 84 card last minute, it was the heavyweights being bumped up, with Andrei Arlovski and Waldo Cortes-Acosta getting main card placement.
Arlovski entered the fight all of a month shy of his 45th birthday, with the former heavyweight champ the elder statesman of both the division, and promotion as a whole.
His opponent, “Salsa Boy” Cortes-Acosta, had just one career defeat, and had never been stopped.
Both big men chose to change stances back and forth early in the fight, with Arlovski targeting the legs of Cortes-Acosta — an approach that had been utilized by several of the former baseball players’ opponents, to varying degrees of success. Arlovski also went upstairs with a kick that was blocked, while Cortes-Acosta answered back with a jab.
Andrei Arlovski doubled up on his jab next trailing that with a cross. Cortes-Acosta went to the body, then exploded forward with a kick only for Arlovski to evade the attack. “The Pitbull” had less success dodging a fastball from Cortes-Acosta a moment later, but Arlovski was able to circle off the cage. Cortes-Acosta, however seemed to be finding his range with his right hand. It was a left, however, that clipped Arlovski towards the final minute, though he seemed to eat it well and came back with a leg kick, then a spinning back fist. Late in the round, Waldo Cortes-Acosta began throwing heavy leather, but Arlovski bobbed, rolled, and managed to avoid taking much damage.
It was Arlovski leading with his jab in the second, while Cortes-Acosta did a little showboating, putting on a little dance. Arlovski betrayed no emotion — not that he ever shows much — and stuck to the game plan. More dancing and a little hip shake came from Waldo. Then came an opened-handed slap, with the ref pointing out that the move was technically allowed. Arlovski answered back with a combination.
Halfway into the round, and Cortes-Acosta fanned on a spinning back fist. He then charged forward, landing a left hook, but Arlovski avoided all of the follow-ups. More big swings came towards the end of the round for Cortes-Acosta, and while not everything landed, enough was getting through to give him an edge.
Round three saw Andrei Arlovski continue switching stances and chopping the legs. But a right hand by Cortes-Acosta appeared to hurt the ex-champ near the midway mark. A haymaker by the Dominican fanned, and Arlovski landed a spinning back fist, apparently back to normal. More fireworks came with 90 seconds to go, as Arlovski complained of an eye poke that was missed by the ref. He would survive, and kick the body, only for Cortes-Acosta to motion like a matador, continuing to showboat. Arlovski landed a spinning back kick to the midsection with 10 seconds remaining, and Cortes-Acosta had a few words for the legend following the final horn.
Official Result: Waldo Cortes-Acosta def. Andrei Arlovski by unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28)
