Newark — Heavyweight Waldo Cortes-Acosta has a big, literally and figuratively, fight with Alexander Volkov at UFC 328 this Saturday in Newark, NJ.
The Dominican fighter sits on a three-fight win streak, and is coming off a knockout finish of Derrick Lewis. The towering Volkov, six foot seven, enters off a win over Jailton Almeida and is never far from a title fight.
“Volkov is a very intelligent fighter, somebody that you have to be very cautious with, somebody that’s faced other fighters, he’s faced so much competition so you’ve seen what he offers,” Cortes-Acosta (17-2) said during Wednesday’s UFC 328 media day, speaking with journalists including Cageside Press. “He’s somebody that smartly avoids confrontation, so you have to take the confrontation up to him, take it up to him to win.”
Getting the win is one thing, but doing it in style also matters to “Salsa Boy.” As he put it, via translator, “the win is important, but the way you get the win is just as important. I’ve always been a fighter with a lot of volume, and it’s going to be no different this Saturday. That’s what I need to do, that’s what I’ve done, that’s what I need to do and that’s what I’m going to do on Saturday to finish this fast.”
Cortes-Acosta believes a win at UFC 328 could even land him a title shot, depending on how the heavyweight division plays out over the next few weeks. Champ Tom Aspinall is almost ready to return from injury. Ciryl Gane, whose eye pokes left Aspinall on the sidelines, is fighting Alex Pereira for an interim belt at the White House in June. Josh Hokit, a rising star at heavyweight, fights Derrick Lewis on that same Freedom 250 card.
“I think that after the fight that we had between Volkov and Gane from before, consider the result of that fight [a controversial decision], and consider what Tom said, he wants to wait for the winner of this fight for the interim title. Because of the result of the fight, and Volkov having beaten Ciryl, I don’t think they want to make that fight again,” suggested Cortes-Acosta. “So I do think that I should be ready for a fight, and I could be fighting for the title if all the chips fall [in the right place].”
A former pitcher, Cortes-Acosta has said the punch he knocked down Derrick Lewis with was a change-up. What will he knock down Volkov with? “It’s going to be a sinker,” he said with a laugh.
Watch the full UFC 328 media day appearance by Waldo Cortes-Acosta above.
