Derrick LewisvsWaldo Cortes-Acosta

The Black Beast is back and facing a dude who's been on an absolute tear. Derrick Lewis just starched Tallison Teixeira in 35 seconds back in July, doing that classic Lewis thing where he just ends fights out of nowhere. Meanwhile, Waldo "Salsa Boy" Cortes-Acosta has been fighting like a madman in 2025. The guy signed a new UFC deal right before stepping in on THREE DAYS' NOTICE at UFC Qatar in November, where he knocked out Shamil Gaziev in the first round. That was his second straight first round finish and his fifth fight of the year. After that win, he immediately asked the UFC to book him again at UFC 323 in December, though that didn't materialize.

Here's what makes this interesting: Cortes-Acosta is riding high with back to back knockouts against Ante Delija and Gaziev, plus he grinded out a decision win over Serghei Spivac earlier this year. The kid's got momentum and he's staying active as hell. But Lewis? Man, Lewis has that one punch power that makes every second dangerous. He's knocked out Rodrigo Nascimento and Marcos Rogerio de Lima in recent years, both times just shutting the lights off when you least expect it. The technical breakdown is wild because Cortes-Acosta actually throws volume.

He landed 77 strikes in his win over Ryan Spann, while Lewis is all about patience and then BOOM. Salsa Boy's been finishing guys early, but he's never faced someone who can erase all that momentum with one shot. Lewis lost to Jailton Almeida in a five round war and got submitted by Spivac, but when he connects, it's over. The Dominican heavyweight is coming in with fresh ink on a new contract and the confidence of someone who just traveled halfway around the world on three days' notice and still got the knockout.