MORRISTOWN, N.J. – Waldo Cortes-Acosta revealed he confronted rising heavyweight Josh Hokit after he dished a nasty callout earlier this year.
Cortes-Acosta, a father of nine, was called out by Hokit at UFC 324 in January. Following his a TKO win over Denzel Freeman, Hokit grabbed the mic and challenged Cortes-Acosta to a fight, calling him a “deadbeat father.” Those comments didn’t sit well with Cortes-Acosta, which prompted the Dominican to confront Hokit at the Meta APEX in Las Vegas.
Cortes-Acosta did not reveal exactly when he approached Hokit.
“Not only did he speak about me, but he spoke about my family, my kids, and a bunch more sh*t came out of his mouth,” Cortes-Acosta told reporters at UFC 328 media day on Wednesday. “I don’t know what character he was on to speak that way. I ran into him at the (Meta) Apex, and I confronted him. I got on the ring, and I gave him a good look, and I told him, ‘You’re not worth anything. You better prepare yourself well because one day you and I are going to fight.'”
Cortes-Acosta said that Hokit then approached him and apologized for the comments he made. But for Cortes-Acosta, the damage was done, and he had no interest in settling things with Hokit.
“I ran into him at the elevator later, and he said, ‘I’m sorry. Please forgive me. That was only to make headlines so you and I can make money in a fight down the line,'” Cortes-Acosta said. “‘You’re a f*cking idiot. You’re a p*ssy,’ I told him.”
UFC 328 (Paramount+) takes place Saturday at Prudential Center in Newark. Cortes-Acosta (17-2 MMA, 10-2 UFC) returns to action on the main card against former Bellator champion and UFC veteran Alexander Volkov (39-11 MMA, 13-5 UFC). Cortes-Acosta expects to get his hand raised and, with some luck on his side, end up fighting UFC heavyweight champion Tom Aspinall.
“I believe a win over Volkov this Saturday, while also keeping in mind that Ciryl Gane is fighting at the White House, along with other heavyweights, I will be free and will have the time to prepare and will have the opportunity to fight Tom Aspinall since he’s waiting for a fight,” Cortes-Acosta said. “We know that Volkov already beat Ciryl Gane. They’re not going to want to put him against Aspinall. So if I beat Volkov, I might get the opportunity to fight Aspinall.”
This article originally appeared on MMA Junkie: UFC heavyweight reveals he confronted ‘f*cking idiot’ Josh Hokit