Heavyweight veteran Andrei Arlovski will return to action early next year as he takes on up-and-comer Waldo Cortes-Acosta at a UFC Fight Night event on Jan. 13.
The record holder for the most wins in UFC heavyweight history, Arlovski will make his 47th walk to the Octagon as he takes on the Dominican Republic native fighting out of Phoenix. The matchup was first reported by ESPN commentator Gaston Reyno. Cortes-Acosta later confirmed the bout on social media.
Arlovksi had a four-fight winning streak snapped with a submission loss to Marcos Rogerio de Lima in October 2022. Arlovski subsequently went on to suffer a knockout loss to Don’Tale Mayes earlier this year, making it two defeats in a row for the 44-year-old.
Meanwhile, Cortes-Acosta is coming off the first stoppage win of his UFC career, a brutal first-round TKO win over Lukasz Brzeski in Singapore in August. “Salsa Boy” earned his UFC contract with a finish over Brazil’s Danilo Suzart last year on the Contender Series. The former LFA champ went on to notch consecutive decision wins against Jared Vanderaa and Chase Sherman in UFC competition before suffering his first promotional loss de Lima in April.
More must-reads: