Mandatory Credit: Gary A. Vasquez-Imagn Images

UFC 316 – Serghei Spivac vs. Waldo Cortes Acosta Head To Head Comparison, Tale Of The Tape And More!

Mandatory Credit: Gary A. Vasquez-Imagn Images

On June 7, 2025, at Newark’s Prudential Center, UFC 316 will feature a pivotal heavyweight clash between Moldova’s Serghei “Polar Bear” Spivac against Dominican Republic’s Waldo “Salsa Boy” Cortes-Acosta. Spivac a well known grappling maestro, will aim to impose his elite ground game, leveraging his top-tier takedown accuracy to control the fight early on. Known for his relentless pressure, he’s looking to rebound and solidify himself as a top-10 contender in his division.

Cortes-Acosta, a former baseball pitcher turned into a knockout artist, brings fluent boxing and high striking volume. He’s riding a hot streak currently and most definitely wants to keep the fight standing, as that’s the part he excels in. Acosta may want to test Spivac’s chin, but the “Polar Bear” may not give in that easily. This clash between the two promises to bring a lot of excitement, when one fighter is skilled on the ground on okay while standing, and the other is excellent standing, but hasn’t been truly tested on the ground yet.

Big boys coming to #UFC316 😤

Serghei Spivac vs Waldo Cortes-Acosta pic.twitter.com/yIkLd7YCiB
— UFC (@ufc) May 18, 2025

Serghei Spivac’s MMA Journey

Spivac made his MMA debut in September 2014 with the Ukrainian Real Fight Promotion. He absolutely willed his way through WWFC: Ukraine Selection 1 and Selection 4 and would he go on a 9-fight winning streak, before losing to Walt Harris via knockout in his UFC debut on May 2019. While he went on to win his second UFC fight against Tai Tuivasa, he would again lose against Marcin Tybura, creating a lot of doubts in everybody’s mind. Since Tybura loss, Spivac’s won 7 of his 10 fights so far, and has only lost against the interim champ Tom Aspinall, Ciryl Gane, and Jailton Almeida since.

Not many of his fights make it to the final bell 👊

We take a look at every finish of Serghei Spivac's UFC career! #UFCVegas95 pic.twitter.com/2eOvN3xm7y
— UFC (@ufc) August 5, 2024

The “Polar Bear” heading into the fight, can potentially take out Acosta on the ground, but the problem with his durability remains a serious question as he has four KO/TKO losses in his career thus far. His record is currently 17-5-0.

Serghei Spivac’s MMA Record

22 Fights	Wins	Loss
By KO/TKO	7	4
By Submission	8	0
By Decision	2	1

Waldo Cortes Acosta’s MMA Journey

The Dominican started his professional MMA journey in 2018 and trained alongside George St-Pierre at the Tristar Gym. He started off with two victories in professional MMA, faced Muhammad DeReese on November 2021, at Bellator 271, and his final bout for the LFA heavyweight championship was a win via TKO in the third round. On August of 2022, after just 6 pro MMA fights, Acosta faced Danilo Suzart for a UFC contract at Dana White’s Contender Series, winning the fight via first round TKO. His reward? A UFC contract by Dana White.

Waldo Cortes Acosta vs Ryan Spann | FINISH

On March 15, 2025, at the UFC APEX, Waldo Cortes Acosta put his ranking on the line against Ryan Spann. In the final seconds of Round 2, Cortes Acosta landed heavy ground-and-pound. Spann made it back to his feet, but Cortes… pic.twitter.com/zKYTkst6Bu
— MMAVisualized (@MMAVisualized) April 6, 2025

He made his UFC debut in UFC Fight Night 213 against Jared Vanderaa on October 2022, taking him down via unanimous decision and getting a win. After beating Chase Sherman next, Acosta lost his first ever fight via unanimous decision against Marcos Rogerio de Lima. However, since then Acosta has won four straight fights, and has secured two knockouts in the process. His last fight was in March 2025, when he knocked out Ryan Spann in just 2 rounds. Acosta has a near flawless MMA record of 13-1-0.

Waldo Cortes Acosta’s MMA Record

14 Fights	Wins	Loss
By KO/TKO	6	0
By Submission	1	0
By Decision	6	1

Serghei Spivac vs. Waldo Cortes Acosta Tale of the Tape

Tale of the Tape	Serghei Spivac	Waldo Cortes Acosta
Record	17-5-0	13-1-0
Height	6’3″	6’4″
Weight	233 pounds	262 pounds
Reach	78 Inches	78 inches
Stance	Orthodox	Orthodox
D.O.B	January 24, 1995	October 3, 1991

Serghei Spivac

UFC

UFC 316

Waldo Cortes Acosta

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