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UFC Vegas 99: Cortes-Acosta Overcomes Eye Poke, Delivers Stunning Knockout Amidst Controversy
Following a weekend marred by an eye poke controversy in the heavyweight title fight between Tom Aspinall and Ciryl Gane, UFC Fight Night in Las Vegas delivered another bizarre incident – and a thrilling comeback victory. Heavyweight contender Waldo Cortes-Acosta secured a stunning knockout win over Ante Delija on saturday, but only after initially absorbing an accidental eye poke and having the fight briefly restarted.
The dramatic sequence unfolded at the UFC Apex, where Cortes-Acosta (15-2) initially appeared to be on the verge of a first-round TKO loss. Despite being struck by Delija, Cortes-Acosta revealed he was poked in the eye. “I feel the finger going inside my eye. The referee said to stop it. I decided to continue because I felt that I could continue,” Cortes-Acosta stated, adding, “My eyes were like 20% vision but I said I don’t give a f—.” After a consultation with instant replay, referee Mark Smith allowed the fight to continue.
Mere seconds later, Cortes-Acosta unleashed a powerful looping right hand that connected flush with Delija’s chin, sending the Croatian fighter crashing to the canvas. He then followed up with ground strikes untill Smith intervened, stopping the bout at 3:59 of the first round. The victory marked Cortes-Acosta’s sixth win in his last seven fights, rebounding from a decision loss to Sergei Pavlovich in August.
The irony of the situation was not lost on observers,as Delija (26-7) is a teammate of Aspinall,who was on the receiving end of a fight-ending eye poke against Gane at UFC 321. Earlier in the week, Delija publicly criticized Gane, stating at media day, “I had 33 fights and never poked someone in the eye. And I do believe the punishment for that should be severe.” Delija’s accidental foul was initially missed by Smith, and Cortes-Acosta absorbed several strikes before the referee paused the action.
Cortes-Acosta’s post-fight demeanor reflected his fierce determination. “Yeah, I’m mad. I’m Dominican. This is in my blood, from birth,” he exclaimed. “This is what happens. I come in like that every f—ing time and anyone that doesn’t come in f—ing shape, I f— him up like that.”
Delija, a former PFL tournament champion who made an explosive UFC debut with a knockout of Marcin Tybura in september, now faces a setback. Though, Cortes-Acosta is already looking ahead, setting his sights on a future clash with Aspinall. “I want to tell you something, Aspinall, you see that fight, no? I’m going for you,” Cortes-Acosta challenged.”Be ready, OK? Be ready.”
The Dominican fighter also expressed his desire to compete for the championship. “its exciting for me. For my last fight, I pressured too much.That Russian guy [Pavlovich] got my f—ing victory and took my f—ing five straight [win streak]. I want to come back and beat the champ of the world and f— him up, too.”
