Waldo Cortes Acosta trashed UFC heavyweight champion Tom Aspinall, who has not stepped foot inside the Octagon in nearly a year.
Aspinall suffered an eye injury against Ciryl Gane in the main event of UFC 321 in October 2025, and he still hasn’t returned to the cage, as his eye injury has kept him out for nearly a full year at this point.
It’s been frustrating not only for the fans, who want to see the UFC heavyweight title defended, but also for fellow heavyweight fighters such as Cortes Acosta, who is growing tired of seeing Aspinall be inactive.
Waldo Cortes Acosta Rips Tom Aspinall
Speaking to the media ahead of his fight against Curtis Blaydes at Noche UFC, Cortes Acosta shared his honest thoughts about Aspinall still being out.
“Yeah, it’s a lot of frustration to see the champion be like this. He knows that he needs to come back and fight with Ciryl Gane, I think he, sorry for the language barrier, he’s got an (expletive) and I think having a long time to heal and come back to fight for the title, but this is not the champion. For me this is not the champion. For me the champion is a someone who has a problem, fixes it and tries to come back, fights and is a warrior, not to be a (expletive), I don’t know where he is, trying to hide because he doesn’t want to fight Ciryl Gane,” Cortes Acosta said (via Bloody Elbow).
Waldo Cortes Acosta Hoping for Big Win at Noche UFC
This Saturday at Noche UFC, Cortes Acosta takes on Blaydes in what should be a barnburner between two of the best heavyweights in the world.
Cortes Acosta is coming off a decision loss to Alexander Volkov at UFC 328 in May, while Blaydes lost to Josh Hokit in a Fight of the Year candidate at UFC 327 in April.
Both men know they need to get back into the win column if they want to get back in title contention in the UFC heavyweight division, so fans should expect a great fight this Saturday night.
Waldo Cortes Acosta Trashes UFC Champion Tom Aspinall