Waldo Cortes Acosta vs Curtis BlaydesHeavyweight at Noche UFC

Upcoming·Noche UFC·Saturday, September 12, 2026
vs
Curtis Blaydes
19-6, 1 NC
Stance
Orthodox
Weight class
Heavyweight
Rounds
5 × 5 min
Venue
Desert Diamond Arena · Glendale

Matchup read

Where each fighter holds an edge — offense against the opponent's defense.

Striking
Even

Even striking exchange

Effective offense
A+
92nd
2.6
Even
A
85th
2.2
Defense
C
51st
54%
+10
B
61st
53%
KO power
C
9 KO
0.5 KD
Even
C
13 KO
0.1 KD
See full Striking
Wrestling
Even

Both control well

Takedowns landed
D
37th
0.4
+59
A+
96th
4.6
Takedown accuracy
B
65th
50%
Even
B
65th
45%
Takedown defense
B
63rd
74%
+37
D
26th
35%
Control time
D
38th
1.4 min
+51
A+
89th
6.6 min
See full Grappling
Submission
◂ Acosta

Acosta is the bigger submission threat on Blaydes

Submission attempts
C
50th
0.1
+26
F
24th
0.0
Sub win rate
B
64th
6%
1 sub
Even
B
63rd
0%
0 subs
Submission defense
D
36th
0%
Even
D
36th
0%
See full Grappling
Finishing
Even

Both hard to finish

Finish rate
D
34th
50%
Even
D
37th
57%
KO durability
B
70th
0%
+20
C
50th
20%
Submission defense
D
36th
0%
Even
D
36th
0%
See full Finishes
Pace
Blaydes ▸

Blaydes pushes the higher work rate over five rounds

Work rate / min — full fight
5.8
8.2
Work rate / min — rounds 1–2
5.6
7.9
Pace trend
+15%/rd
+9%/rd
See full Pace
Form
◂ Acosta

Acosta is in better recent form than Blaydes

Win rate (career)
77%
70%
After a win
70%
64%
Last 5
60%
40%
Win streakL1L1
See full Form
Schedule
Blaydes ▸

Blaydes has faced the tougher schedule vs Acosta

Schedule strength
59%
73%
Win quality
65%
71%
Ranked opponents
7
16
Title-holder bouts
0
Even
0
Common opps (3)1-21-2
See full Schedule
Activity
◂ Acosta

Acosta has fought more often lately than Blaydes

Last bout
2mo
3mo
Bouts, last 12 mo
5
1
Bouts, last 24 mo
7
3
See full Activity
Tale of the tape
Blaydes ▸

Blaydes 2" reach · Closed-stance matchup

34
Age
1y
younger
35
6'4"
193cm
Height
Even
6'4"
193cm
78"
198cm
Reach
2"
reach
80"
203cm
Edge sizeSlightNotableMajor
See full Tale of the tape

Core metrics

Each fighter's career rates as a division percentile.

Waldo Cortes AcostaCurtis Blaydes
StrikingAccuracyDefenseTakedownsTD defenseSubmissions
Percentile
Striking/min5.344.18
Accuracy%48%52%
Defense%54%53%
Takedowns/150.45.1
TD defense%73%35%
Submissions/150.10.0

Career rate as a percentile within the heavyweight (304 fighters) — further right is better. Descriptive research, not a prediction.