Waldo Cortes-Acosta will substitute Serghei Spivac on three days’ discover and face Shamil Gaziev at Saturday’s UFC Qatar in Doha.
An individual with data of the promotion’s plans confirmed the change to MMA Preventing following a report from ESPN Deportes. Gaziev additionally confirmed the information on social media.
UFC Qatar will happen on the Ali Bin Hamad al-Attiyah Enviornment in Doha and have Arman Tsarukyan vs. Dan Hooker in a five-round light-weight major occasion. It’s nonetheless unclear what led to Spivac’s withdrawal.
Cortes-Acosta (15-2) knocked out Ante Delija in underneath 4 minutes earlier this month, rebounding from a choice defeat to Sergei Pavlovich and bettering to 6-1 since mid-2023. “Salsa Boy” makes his fifth look of 2025, and accepted the bout on Wednesday. Cortes-Acosta traveled to Qatar hours later from Phoenix to take the quick discover alternative, his workforce confirmed to MMA Preventing. The Dominican Republic native has now gained eight of 10 underneath the UFC banner, topping the likes of Andrei Arlovski, Robelis Despaigne, Ryan Spann and Spivac.
“Anytime, anyplace, in opposition to anyone,” Cortes-Acosta posted on Instagram tales. “Simply to show I’m top-of-the-line and I’m all the time prepared. See you Saturday in Qatar.
Gaziev (14-1) was slated to face Spivac in three completely different dates in 2025 however neither got here to fruition. He hasn’t entered the octagon since a first-round knockout over Thomas Petersen in February, bettering to 3-1 with a pair of finishes within the promotion.
“Respect to the pirate for stepping on board,” Gaziev wrote on X, “however the Gulf is my territory, and it’s going to be very robust on your ship to row right here.”
