Born in the Dominican Republic, Cortes-Acosta grew up playing baseball until an injury pushed him out of the dugout, possibly for good and straight into MMA.
“I started because I had a surgery in my elbow from being a pitcher,” Cortes-Acosta said. “At that time, I tried to play American football, but I didn’t know how to speak English. I have the age and time and I wanted to be in a sport, so I used MMA and boxing for that.”
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Cortes-Acosta has had a mixed bag of results when it comes to his boxing career, but stands a perfect 4-0 in MMA.
The boxing training is far from “a waste” though, as Cortes-Acosta has noticed a cardio skillset that continues to separate him from the pack.
“I want to be faster,” Cortes-Acosta said. “I think it helps me be much better in the striking and the jiu jitsu and a couple other things.”
It’s obviously a stretch to assume any heavyweight with above average cardio can be considered “the next Cain Velasquez,” and for Cortes-Acosta, that’s perfectly fine because with a strong performance at LFA 124, it won’t be long until the rising heavyweight can make history of his own by becoming the first Dominican Republic-born LFA champion.
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“I think my people will be excited for me to be champion and the first Dominican,” Cortes-Acosta said.
With a power, speed and cardio advantage over most opponents he’ll come in contact with, Cortes-Acosta is full of confidence and sees the ends to his LFA 124 card and UFC debut before him already.
“I think in the third round I knock him out,” Cortes-Acosta predicts. “I think UFC this year.”
Catch Waldo Cortes-Acosta as he tries to push his MMA record to a perfect 5-0 on Friday, February 11, ONLY on UFC FIGHT PASS!
