What Is the ‘Salsa Boy’s’ Recipe for Success Against ‘Walking Trouble’?
Ante Delija will create quite a problem for his opponent, Waldo Cortes-Acosta, in the Heavyweight Division. Delijia, also known as “Walking Trouble”, finishes his fights in under two minutes and three seconds on average. Cortes-Acosta, or “Salsa Boy,” is heavier, though by almost twenty pounds, and the ground and pound seen in Delija’s fight against Marcin Tybura may not be the way to go in this heavyweight bout. Instead, it is more likely that “Salsa Boy” will need to keep his accurate punches and striking pattern prominent throughout the fight if he is to slip past the very even standing and ground defense Delija has on average. In fact, both fighters are evenly matched in this way. It would be to the benefit of Cortes-Acosta to take this fight to the ground, where he can exert his weight to exhaust Delija during the first couple of rounds. Ideally, he should only maintain a dominant position while avoiding strikes to the body or face, as Delija will be throwing them more consistently than “Salsa Boy”. The question for Delija, though, will be whether his strikes are more accurate than Coretes-Acosta's. “Walking Trouble” also presents a unique scenario in reach. He has the same as “Salsa Boy”, making maintaining distance from consecutive face or crippling leg strikes an issue best canceled out on the ground.
The ground as a whole is where this fight could be a make-or-break for both fighters. Cortes-Acosta weighs as discussed, but what has not been addressed is his defense when his opponents have attempted takedowns. Delija actually prefers to keep his opponents standing, and should he attempt a takedown to offset “Salsa’s Boy’s” rhythm, it could turn around to haunt him the rest of the fight. Cortes-Acosta hasn’t submitted any of his opponents in his past five fights, but it could be because he recognizes value in maintaining dominance and position to unnerve and exhaust his opponents who take it there. Losing that critical breath and oxygen while keeping Cortes-Acosta from submitting him should be a focus for Delija. Ideally, this predicted exchange on the ground will be longer than the heavyweight fight at UFC 321 between Tom Aspinall and Ciryl Gane. That championship fight at the heavyweight level ended in an uninspiring no-contest.
The fight could go to a decision, but Delija is likely looking to end this fight early. He does not want to chance such a moment to move up in rankings due to the number of strikes landed, nor did he hold the dominant position on the ground long enough. So, it will be up to the “Salsa Boy’s” standing game to outmaneuver the flurry of strikes that is expected from “Walking Trouble’s” plan. If he does by the later rounds of the fight, he could likely land with the decision win as he has done in some of his past five fights. He is the underdog in the predictions, due to many factors, but the most prominent ones appear to be the number of fights as well as the length of fighting time.
