Nearly a decade ago, when Conor McGregor first tasted defeat in the Octagon at UFC 196, he was lauded for his reaction to his first public fall on the world stage.
After being submitted by short-notice replacement Nate Diaz, the Irishman faced the media and answered all queries at the lowest point of his UFC tenure to date. His post-fight pound of flesh was amplified by how much it contrasted to his fellow superstar, Ronda Rousey, being rendered reclusive by Holly Holms left leg in Melbourne, Australia four months before.
On Saturday night in UFC Vegas 110’s co-headliner, Waldo Cortes-Acosta benefitted greatly from the heavyweight division still being in the throes of the UFC 321 eye-poke controversy. A weekend prior, champion Tom Aspinall was harshly scrutinized for being unable to continue to fight after having both of his eyes poked in his main-event clash with Ciryl Gane.
With 90 seconds left in the first round, following referee Mark Smith warning him on multiple occasions to fight back, Cortes-Acosta was downed by a flurry of punches from opponent Ante Delija, ironically a teammate of Aspinalls, resulting in what many believed to be the end of the contest. Everything that happened beyond that point, up until Cortes-Acostas hand being raised in victory, felt like it was heavily shaped by the no-contest verdict that was determined a week before in Abu Dhabi.
Now, with the win, Salsa Boy has emerged in the heavyweight title picture with a ready-made narrative that will provide perfect fodder for the UFCs “Countdown” team should a meeting with Aspinall come to fruition in the future.
A minute after Cortes-Acosta vs. Delija appeared to be stopped, the UFC broadcast showed a slow-mo replay of the exchange, highlighting Delija’s fingers entering the Dominicans eye. The voice of Smith could be heard on the broadcast saying, Im going to see if he can recover,” while conferring with replay official Herb Dean.
The broadcast cut to Cortes-Acosta roaring as he clutched his left eye. Unlike Aspinall a week before, he was given a stool to sit on as he recovered, an item which formally represents the end of a fight and shouldnt be present unless the bout has concluded, causing further confusion. Much was made of Aspinall vocalizing his inability to see in the aftermath of UFC 321, with many fighters insisting that the champ eliminated the chance of the fight continuing by doing so. Yet, nearly as soon as Cortes-Acosta appeared on-screen after the action stopped on Saturday, he did exactly that.
I cant see, Ive been poked in the eye, he told his corner and his cutman, who were in the Octagon assessing him a courtesy Aspinall was also not afforded in Abu Dhabi and, as with the aforementioned stool, something that is not allowed unless the fight has officially ended.
Careful what you say, Waldo, commentator Brendan Fitzgerald said, reminding the watching world of the saga seven days before.
The fever in the APEX subsided when Marc Ratner, Vice President of Regulatory Affairs for UFC, clarified on the broadcast that the fight would continue, a baffling five minutes and six seconds after Delija had begun celebrating what he thought was his second UFC win. According to the commission, seemingly unbeknownst to anyone else, the fight was never officially waved off, which allowed the action to begin again.
Still squinting, Cortes-Acosta stood up and presented himself.
Ironically, Delija, reacting to the Aspinall situation in the lead-up to UFC Vegas 110, insisted that people who inflict pokes on their opponents should face severe punishments. By the time his own fight was ready to get underway again, he was likely experiencing an adrenaline dump, having enthusiastically celebrated what he thought was a win several minutes earlier with his team.
Twenty-five seconds later, the dance was finished by a Dominican fast ball caught by the chin of Delija. Immediately after the stoppage, Cortes-Acosta grabbed his injured eye as if it were on fire.
I feel a finger go inside my eye, he said. Him not stop, him punch like 20 times, then the referee say stop. I stop, then I continue. I dont know if the referee think I [didn’t get] poke in the eyes, but I [got] poke in the eyes.
I decide to continue because I feel I can continue, he added. My eyes is 20% vision, I say I dont give a f***!
Unlike McGregor, who never mentioned Rousey in his own post-fight press conference, a certain Englishman was firmly in Cortes-Acostas crosshairs. Having reacted to the moment in emphatic fashion, Cortes-Acosta then turned his attention to the narrative of UFC 321, fanning the flames created by the masses who claimed Aspinall was looking for a way out against Gane.
The victor has continued to pour fuel on the fire in the aftermath, mimicking Jon Jones by placing an eye patch on his profile pictures across social media. Delija, on the other hand, has underlined his disdain with what transpired, namely the fight being able to continue and the various inconsistencies with the protocol enacted by officials after Smith initially halted the contest.
Yet with his spectacular turnaround and his berating of Aspinall, Cortes-Acosta has become a genuine point of intrigue in a division lacking compelling narratives. To get into that position, he was greatly assisted by an overreaction from the fan base regarding UFC 321, and based on the discrepancies seen after the initial stoppage, an overcorrection from the officials this past Saturday night.
None of that matters now, though. Cortes-Acosta left the APEX with a comeback win, a performance bonus, and a readymade narrative with the champion of his division. Hed just do well to remember Aspinall, without whom none of this would have landed in the same way.