LAS VEGAS — Waldo Cortez-Acosta believes he’s in the best position if he can pass Derrick Lewis.
Cortez Acosta (16-2 MMA, 9-2 UFC) will face former title challenger Lewis (29-12 MMA, 20-10 UFC) in the main event of UFC 324 (Paramount+) on Saturday at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas.
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Cortez-Acosta, who fought five times in 2025, originally wanted to fight in December but ended up getting a better deal on Paramount’s promotional debut card.
“It’s also better because it’s my sixth fight in 11 months,” Cortez-Acosta told MMA Junkie and other reporters at UFC 324 media day on Wednesday. “I don’t have a sixth game in 2025, but I have a sixth game in 11 months. That’s awesome too.”
The Dominican fighter admitted he grew up watching Lewis and is excited about the opportunity.
“I’m a guy that works hard every time,” Cortez-Acosta said. “With Derrick Lewis, when he started training, I had barely trained in MMA. I paid attention to him because he was a heavyweight like me. To this day, he is one of my favorite fighters, let me tell you. This Saturday, one day I was thinking, one day you will fight with him and look at it now. This is real, next Saturday, January 24th, this is going to happen. This is awesome for me.”
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With the current heavyweight title picture unclear, this opportunity could lead to big things for Cortez-Acosta
“I want to fight in the White House,” Cortez-Acosta said. “Latinos, everybody, we support it. A bigger impact, for people to see a Latino fighting in the White House, it’s awesome.”
UFC heavyweight champion Tom Aspinall is set to undergo surgery on both eyes after being poked in the eye during his title fight with Ciryl Gane at UFC 321 last October. A timetable for his return has yet to be determined, but Cortez-Acosta is ready to step in if necessary.
“It’s possible,” Cortez-Acosta said. “I can be in a championship match or an interim, interim championship. Any fight the UFC can have there, I’ll be in, but I want to be in.”
This article originally appeared on MMA Junkie: UFC 324: Waldo Cortez-Acosta hopes to win White House title fight
