Cortes Acosta says he will take all of Hokit's teeth

Waldo Cortes Acosta says he will take all of Josh Hokit’s teeth. He told MMA Fighting.

Cortes Acosta headlines against Johnny Walker on Saturday, November 7, at the Meta Apex in Las Vegas, the heavyweight main event the UFC booked on a week’s notice after Sean Brady withdrew with a staph infection from the welterweight main event against Gabriel Bonfim, which the booking carries. Heavyweight is 265 pounds (120 kg), and the UFC lists Cortes Acosta at No. 6. Hokit fights Ciryl Gane for the heavyweight title on November 14 in the main event of UFC 334 at Madison Square Garden, which the card story books, and the event page lists Hokit at No. 4.

Cortes Acosta told MMA Fighting the title is moving, that he sees new blood coming for it, that Hokit is a personality still moving the heavyweight division, and that he expects good things for the division over the coming months and into the new year. Cortes Acosta said he did not like the trash talk before, that he talks in a more reserved way now, and that the personality makes the fights more exciting and gives the division more to talk about. Cortes Acosta said he is no fan of Hokit, called the mouth dirty, and said he wants that meeting in the cage.

Cortes Acosta is 35 and 17-4, with nine knockouts, one submission, and seven decisions, and all four losses are decisions. In 2025 he fought five times and went 4-1, the mark MMA Fighting calls a Fighter of the Year case: a second-round knockout of Ryan Spann with punches at 4:48 on March 15, a unanimous decision over Serghei Spivac at 5:00 of the third round at UFC 316 on June 7, a unanimous-decision loss to Sergei Pavlovich at 5:00 of the third round on August 23, a first-round knockout of Ante Delija with punches at 3:59 on November 1, and a first-round knockout of Shamil Gaziev with punches at 1:22 on November 22, taken on two days’ notice, with Performance of the Night on both November wins. This year he stopped Derrick Lewis with punches at 3:14 of the second round at UFC 324 on January 24, then lost unanimous decisions to Alexander Volkov at 5:00 of the third round at UFC 328 on May 9 and to Curtis Blaydes at 5:00 of the third round on September 12, and he has not been finished.

A win on Saturday is what Cortes Acosta said would let him fight at UFC 335 on December 12, the date he had expected before this booking, and he said a new contract with that bout would make 2026 a second straight year of five fights in the octagon.

Fundacion, in Barahona in the Dominican Republic, is his birthplace. Cortes Acosta trains at UKF Gym in Phoenix, pitched semi-professional baseball in the Cincinnati Reds organization, started training in 2015, and turned pro in 2018. The only submission is a kimura of Edison Lopes. He won the LFA heavyweight title against Thomas Petersen, then a UFC contract on Dana White’s Contender Series. Cortes Acosta is 76 inches (193 cm) and 262 pounds (119 kg), with a 78-inch (198 cm) reach.

Hokit went from unranked to the title fight inside a year. Hokit is 28 and 10-0, with six knockouts, three submissions, and one decision, and he beat Curtis Blaydes by unanimous decision at 5:00 of the third round at UFC 327 on April 11, the win MMA Fighting calls a Fight of the Year contender, then stopped Derrick Lewis with punches at 4:09 of the second round at UFC Freedom 250 on June 14. The nickname on the UFC page is The Incredible Hok. Hokit is 73 inches (185 cm) and 240 pounds (109 kg), with a 73.5-inch (187 cm) reach, and he trains at Jackson Wink MMA Academy.

Tatiana Suarez meets Virna Jandiroba in the co-main at strawweight, 115 pounds (52 kg). Suarez is ranked No. 2 and Jandiroba is ranked No. 3.