Waldo Cortes-Acosta got the better of the striking action against Andrei Arlovski tonight at UFC 234 to earn a unanimous decision victory.
Round One:
Leg kick for Arlovski. Solid body kick for Cortes-Acosta. Head kick attempt from Arlovski is blocked. Kick from Cortes-Acosta now.
Inside leg kick from Arlovski. They circle and then Arlovski lands a body kick. Big overhand from Cortes-Acosta comes up short.
Head kick attempt from Arlovski. Inside leg kick and then misses on a high kick. Body punch for Cortes-Acosta. He tries a jumping kick to the midsection too.
Solid right hand for Cortes-Acosta. Kick off the arm from Arlovski. Cortes-Acosta with a couple of swings and misses.
Cortes-Acosta lands a jab. Body kick for him. Inside low kick now. Arlovski with a solid body punch and then justs steers clear of a big punch.
Grazing left hand from Cortes-Acosta. calf kick for him. Arlovski with a jab. calf kick for Arlovski. Now he attempts a spinning backfist that’s blocked comfortably.
Heavy right hand from Cortes-Acosta. He tries to follow up with a flurry of punches but it was a bit wild rather than accurate and Arlovski avoided taking too much damage, enabling him to start pressing forward again as the round comes to a close.
Round Two:
Inside leg kick for Cortes-Acosta. Low kick now. And again. Arlovski tries a head kick that’s blocked and then pumps out the jab.
Left hook for Cortes-Acosta. Kick for Arlovski. Now a leg kick from Cortes-Acosta. Jab for Arlovski. Now a solid inside leg kick.
Body punch for Arlovski. Inside and outside leg kick for Arlovski. Kick to the thigh from Cortes-Acosta. He misses on a spinning backfist attempt.
Cortes-Acosta misses on an overhand but throws punches behind it. Nice jab for Arlovski. Now a body punch from him.
Arlovski with another punch to the body. He goes for a kick too. Low kick now. Another body punch and then just gets his head out of range from a counter-punch. Uppercut from Cortes-Acosta at the end of the round.
Round Three:
Low kick for Cortes-Acosta. Body kick from Arlovski. Both try to work the jab. inside leg kick for Arlovski. Calf kick for Cortes-Acosta. A couple of kicks to the leg from Arlovski. Cortes-Acosta with a quick punch that gets through. He tries to follow up with more but not quite finding the mark cleanly.
Punch lands again for Cortes-Acosta. Now an inside leg kick. And again. Light punches to the body from Arlovski as Cortes-Acosta connects on an uppercut.
Two body punches from Arlovski. Arlovski lands to the chin and then body. Inside leg kick for Arlovski, but eats a big right hand in return.
Punch for Arlovski that Cortes-Acosta mocks. Jab for Cortes-Acosta. Body kick for Arlovski. Double-jab for him. Solid right hand from Cortes-Acosta seems to hurt Arlovski. Cortes-Acosta comes forward but Arlovski starts swinging back at him. Arlovski might have got an eye-poke earlier in that exchange but the action continued.
Arlovski seems ok as he lands another body kick. Low kick for him. Front kick to the body from Cortes-Acosta. Cortes-Acosta showboating and Arlovski lands a spinning body kick in response. Arlovski looking to land again and then Cortes-Acosta is trying to get that back as he presses forward, but Arlovski evades as the round comes to an end.
Decision:
This fight never really managed to hit top gear, but the action was fairly competitive, with Cortes-Acosta doing enough in the end to earn a unanimous decision victory (29-28 x3).
