Waldo Cortes-Acosta by no means thought he could be combating Andrei Arlovski. But, right here he’s simply days away from going through the residing legend.
It’s a surreal matchup for Cortes-Acosta (10-1 MMA, 3-1 UFC), who has been watching Arlovski (34-22 MMA, 23-16 UFC) combat since he was an adolescent. Cortes-Acosta, now 32, feels happy with how far he’s are available in MMA now that he’s combating a former UFC champion at Saturday’s UFC Struggle Evening 234 in Las Vegas.
“Once I began MMA, I by no means thought I’d be combating him,” Cortes-Acosta advised MMA Junkie in Spanish. “I assumed possibly I’d combat different fighters like possibly if I obtained actually, actually good, and I’d get to combat Jon Jones. However combating Andrei Arlovski, I by no means considered it. I started combating round 2014, 2015, and I assumed in a number of years he could be retired, however no. He’s stored going, and now we’re in 2024, and he’s nonetheless at it.”
When Arlovski made his skilled debut in MMA, Cortes-Acosta was simply seven years previous and hoping to turn out to be knowledgeable baseball participant within the Dominican Republic. When Arlovski first grew to become UFC champion, Cortes-Acosta was 12.
By no means in 1,000,000 years did Cortes-Acosta assume he could be combating Arlovski, who’s now 44. He remembers the primary time he noticed Arlovski combat.
“Think about, I obtained a flashback after I was enjoying baseball within the academy,” Cortes-Acosta stated. “I bear in mind at some point, all my associates had been gathered on the T.V. they usually referred to as me over, ‘Hey, come look!’ Once I go over, I see this monster combating within the octagon. I used to be like, ‘Wow, they’re allowed to go after one another like that?’ I’m speaking about after I was 14 or 15 years previous, and take a look at me now.
“I remembered that second after I obtained the combat. I really feel very happy with myself to be the place I’m at and to be combating him.”
Though Cortes-Acosta respects Arlovski, all that can exit the window the second they get locked within the cage. He gained’t let his admiration for Arlovski cease him from getting his hand raised.
“The psychological and respect combat, all that’s thrown out,” Cortes-Acosta stated. “Within the cage, I’ve respect for nobody. In case you’re placing on the gloves to combat me, there’s no respect. Even my very own dad, I don’t give him any respect if we had been to combat within the octagon. It’s one other world in there.”
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