Jun 7, 2025; Newark, New Jersey, UNITED STATES; Waldo Cortes Acosta (blue gloves) reacts after defeating Serghei Spivac (red gloves) during UFC 316 at Prudential Center. Mandatory Credit: Vincent Carchietta-Imagn Images

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Waldo Cortes-Acosta Criticizes Tom Aspinall’s Reaction To Eye Poke; Vows To “Do Him” Like His Teammate

Tom Aspinall can’t catch a break these days. The heavyweight champion has been under fire ever since his UFC 321 fight ended in a no-contest. Ciryl Gane accidentally poked both of Aspinall’s eyes in the first round, causing the bout to stop. Fans immediately questioned whether Aspinall quit too easily or if the injury was genuinely serious enough to prevent him from continuing. Now another heavyweight, Waldo Cortes-Acosta has joined the pile-on in a pretty bold way.

Cortes-Acosta just fought at UFC Vegas 110 and dealt with his own eye poke situation. Unlike Aspinall, Cortes-Acosta continued fighting and secured a knockout victory. The Dominican fighter wasted no time using that moment to take shots at the champion.

Waldo Cortes-Acosta Predicts He Would Knock Out Tom Aspinall

Waldo Cortes-Acosta criticized Tom Aspinall’s reaction to eye poke during a backstage interview with Megan Olivi after his win over Ante Delija, who happens to be Aspinall’s training partner. Cortes-Acosta got poked in the eye during the first round of his fight but returned to action despite losing some vision. He knocked out Delija anyway, then immediately called out his teammate. He basically insinuated that Aspinall quit while Cortes-Acosta pushed through. Moreover, during the post-fight press conference, he predicted what would happen if they fought.

It was because of him being a champion [that he was able to quit] because of a poke in the eye, too.[Ante Delija is Aspinall’s] training partner. I do him, like, knock him out in the first round. What [would] happen if me and Tom Aspinall fight?”

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The implication was obvious. Cortes-Acosta believes he would do the same thing to Aspinall that he did to his teammate. It’s bold trash talk from someone who isn’t even ranked in the heavyweight top fifteen yet. But, he clearly believes he has the striking power and toughness advantage over the champion. Whether he’s right or just talking remains to be seen, but he definitely got everyone’s attention with those comments.

The MMA community remains split on the issue of the eye poke controversy. Some people think Aspinall quit too easily and used the eye poke as an excuse. Others believe the injury was legitimate and continuing would have been dangerous. Waldo Cortes-Acosta clearly falls into the first camp and isn’t shy about expressing it.

(Image Credit: Vincent Carchietta – Imagn Images)

Ante Delija

Tom Aspinall

UFC Vegas 110

Waldo Cortes-Acosta

Zaid Quraishi

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I am a dedicated MMA and Boxing content writer at The Playoffs. I was instantly hooked on MMA after watching the fight between Lyoto Machida vs. Gegard Mousasi back in 2014, and since then, i have been an avid writer with a deep love for the sport and its techniques, providing readers with a thorough understanding of the sport. My favorite aspect of working at The Playoffs is the creative freedom it provides. The diverse range of topics, from listicles and SEO to news articles, keeps me engaged and motivates me to continuously improve my skills! I aim to capture the excitement of the combat sports world in my writing, acting as the middleman between fighters and their die-hard fans. It is kind of like a referee, but with words!