Waldo Cortes-Acosta had a memorable win at UFC Vegas 110, but it wasn’t the biggest story to come out of the UFC’s return to the APEX.
“Salsa Boy” stopped Ante Delija in the first round of the card’s co-main event, which was initially believed to be a TKO win for Delija until the replay showed Cortes-Acosta being poked in the eye prior to the flurry that first stopped the action. It appeared to be heading towards a no-contest, but the bout was eventually restarted, which led to Cortes-Acosta getting the official finish.
However, prior to his fight, the eyes of the MMA gambling world were fixated on the fast-moving betting lines for the featherweight bout between Isaac Dulgarian and Yadier del Valle. The lines closed with heavy betting on del Valle, and the bout ended with del Valle getting a first-round submission win. Since then, allegations of fight-fixing have come to light, and continues to be a huge story in the UFC space. Cortes-Acosta was asked about the situation after competing on the same card as the bout in question.
“I don’t know what’s happening,” Cortes-Acosta told MMA Fighting. “I don’t know, man. I’m here for fighting, that’s it. I [wouldn’t] sell myself for any money in the f*cking world because my integrity, and my ego is too much to try and lose a fight because I needed money, or something like that.
“I don’t know about that, [or] what [those] people are doing. I don’t really pay attention too much.”
Dulgarian was released from the UFC following the fight, and an investigation is ongoing, according to UFC CEO Dana White.
This isn’t the first time this cloud has hung over the UFC. In November 2022, Darrick Minner’s bout with Shayilan Nuerdanbieke at UFC Vegas 64 was flagged for suspicious betting activity — with betting lines showing Nuerdanbieke go from a -220 favorite all the way up to a -420 favorite just hours before the bout. Minner was stopped in just 70 seconds.
Minner, along with his then-head coach James Krause were suspended by the Nevada Athletic Commission, Minner was released by the UFC, and the UFC took action to essentially ban Krause from participating in any events moving forward with the promotion, while also taking steps to prevent any fighter who works with the retired fighter to compete in the organization.
Cortes-Acosta has competed four times in 2024, picking up three wins, with the lone loss coming to former title challener Sergei Pavlovich at UFC Shanghai, losing a unanimous decision. The 34-year-old hopes to return in December to get his fifth fight of the year on the books.
As far as the alleged betting controversy goes, Cortes-Acosta says it was engrained in him at a very young age to not take that path, and how the importance of being able to look yourself in the mirror is more valuable than any dollar amount would ever be.
“Yeah, I [was] born in one family, money [is] not [more] important than how serious you can be for the people, and for the people [to[ see you serious you [are to] be yourself,” Cortes-Acosta explained. “This is how I [grew] up. I have a Dad who was really strict about that, and he don’t like that kind of deal. It’s too much for him.
“And me being [his] son, he wouldn’t want me to have a situation like that.”
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