Waldo Cortes-Acosta shakes off eye poke, flattens Ante Delija with a savage KO. Waldo Cortes-Acosta proved his toughness once again inside the cage, after enduring a nasty eye poke that nearly stopped the fight, he refused to back down and moments later unleashed a furious comeback, flattening Ante Delija with a savage knockout that left the crowd stunned.
On Saturday, November 1, 2025, the UFC returned to the Apex in Las Vegas with a thrilling heavyweight co-main event between Waldo Cortes-Acosta and Ante Delija. Waldo Cortes-Acosta has steadily built his reputation as one of the most durable and dangerous boxers in the heavyweight division. The Dominican contender is coming off an impressive unanimous decision victory over Serghei Spivac at UFC 316 in June 2025. Earlier in the year, he earned a second-round knockout win against Ryan Spann in March at UFC Vegas 104 and previously defeated Robelis Despaigne and Andrei Arlovski by decision. His most recent setback came against Sergei Pavlovich, who outpointed him last August in a competitive bout.
Across the cage was Ante Delija, a Croatian powerhouse making his second appearance under the UFC banner. Delija made an explosive debut earlier this year, knocking out Marcin Tybura in just over two minutes. Before that, he scored a TKO victory over Yorgan De Castro while competing outside the UFC. The former 2022 PFL Heavyweight Champion, Delija is known for his strong wrestling base and devastating ground-and-pound.
Ante Delija made his way into the cage first, followed by Waldo Cortes-Acosta. The fight kicked off with high intensity as Delija came out aggressive, landing the first shots. Both heavyweights wasted no time trading shots, and Delija quickly pressed Acosta against the fence. Acosta, however, reversed the position and pinned Delija back against the cage.
In an attempt to score a takedown, Acosta lost control and the two fighters returned to the center of the Octagon. Delija once again unleashed combinations and drove Acosta back to the fence. Acosta battled back, reversing position yet again, pinning Delija. Moments later, Delija turned the tables once more, pressing Acosta to the cage but accidentally poking him in the eye during the exchange.
The eye poke clearly affected Acosta, causing him to lose balance, and Delija seized the moment, swarming him with heavy punches until the referee stepped in. The fight was briefly halted for a replay review, which confirmed the accidental eye poke. Acosta was given time to recover, and officials announced that if he couldn’t continue, the bout would be ruled a No Contest. After a short break, Acosta confirmed he was good to go.
Once the fight resumed, both fighters came out swinging. Almost immediately, Delija landed a solid shot to Acosta’s injured eye, but Acosta answered back with fire. He flipped the script, landing a massive punch that rocked Delija and sent him crashing to the mat. Acosta followed up with a barrage of punches until the referee stepped in to wave it off. From being on the verge of a No Contest to scoring a stunning comeback knockout, Cortes-Acosta turned adversity into triumph. The stoppage came at 3:59 in a crazy first round.
“I feel a finger go deep inside my eye,” Cortes-Acosta said after his win. “The referee said stop, I stopped. I don’t know the referee or something didn’t poke me in the eyes. I decided to continue because I feel I can continue, my eye is at like 20 percent vision. [Tom] Aspinall, I go for you, I’ll be ready. “I’m mad. I’m Dominican. That’s in my blood. I’m excited. I want to come back. I want to be champion of the world.”
Main Card
Steve Garcia def. David Onama via TKO (strikes) – (R1, 3:34)
Waldo Cortes-Acosta def. Ante Delija via KO (punch) – (R1, 3:59)
Jeremiah Wells def. Themba Gorimbo via unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28)
Yadier del Valle def. Isaac Dulgarian via submission (rear-naked choke) – (R1, 3:41)
Charles Radtke def. Daniel Frunza via submission (rear-naked choke) – (R3, 4:29)
Allan Nascimento def. Cody Durden via submission (anaconda choke) – (R2, 3:13)
Preliminary Card
Billy Elekana def. Kevin Christian via submission (rear-naked choke) – (R1, 3:33)
Timmy Cuamba def. Chang Ho Lee via unanimous decision (29-28 x3)
Donte Johnson def. Sedriques Dumas via submission (guillotine choke) (R2, 1:25)
Norma Dumont def. Ketlen Vieira via split decision (29-28 x2, 28-29)
Alice Ardelean def. Montserrat Ruiz via unanimous decision (30-27 x3)
Seokhyon Ko def. Phil Rowe via unanimous decision (30-26, 30-27 x2)
Talita Alencar def. Ariane Carnelossi via submission (rear-naked choke) (R3, 4:36)
