Dominican heavyweight Waldo Cortez-Acosta made headlines by stopping Derrick Lewis in two rounds at UFC 324, but it surely was his feedback about household plans that caught the attention throughout Saturday’s post-fight press convention in Las Vegas.
Waldo Cortez-Acosta says 9 kids is sufficient after UFC 324 knockout win
Requested about having a tenth little one after his victory at T-Cell Enviornment, Cortez Acosta rapidly denied the hypothesis. “Ten kids? No, no, no, we stopped there. We now have too many kids,” Cortez-Acosta mentioned by way of an interpreter. “The manufacturing unit has stopped. It is gone. That is it. There are a variety of kids. It is over. Manufacturing is over.”
The 34-year-old revealed in November 2025 that he has 9 kids in complete, together with three organic kids with spouse Sofia Lastra and three stepchildren from his ex-wife. Cortez-Acosta’s youngest little one, a daughter born in August with Down syndrome, spent a number of months within the NICU earlier than being launched. The fighter has been open about balancing an energetic battle schedule with a big household and mentioned he has to embrace the alternatives it affords them.
Cortez-Acosta prolonged his profitable streak to a few fights with the victory over Ruiz, ending his run because the UFC’s all-time knockout chief at 3:14 of the second spherical. The Dominican fighter used affected person strikes and damaging leg kicks to arrange the end, dropping Ruiz with a counter jab, adopted by floor strikes that pressured referee Jason Herzog to cease the battle.
With this win, Cortez Acosta’s report stands at 17-2 total and 10-2 within the UFC. He went 4-1 in 5 complete fights in 2025, tying the UFC’s report for many fights in a yr. His exercise degree has drawn reward from observers who observe that many heavyweights battle to keep up a constant battle schedule.
After the victory, Cortez-Acosta known as up No. 4 ranked heavyweight Curtis Blaydes for a potential battle in Mexico Metropolis. “I would like Curtis Blaydes,” Cortez-Acosta mentioned within the post-fight interview. “He is been speaking a variety of nonsense, so we have to shut him up.” The Dominican-born fighter has expressed a want to compete at UFC Battle Night time 268 in Mexico Metropolis on February 28, citing his Mexican spouse and 4 Mexican kids as motivations for preventing there.
Cortez Acosta has maintained his weight round 265 kilos all year long, which he attributes to his capacity to just accept brief discover bouts. The previous baseball pitcher turned to MMA on the age of 25 after an elbow damage ended his pitching profession. He earned a UFC contract in 2022 by way of Dana White’s Contender Sequence and has since established himself as an up-and-coming contender within the heavyweight division.
The win over Ruiz was a major step up within the competitors for two-time title challenger and former prime contender Cortez Acosta. Ruiz, who holds a UFC report with 16 profession knockouts, struggled to land energy punches towards the sooner, extra technical Cortez-Acosta.
