Waldo Cortes-Acosta’s coach reveals crazy airport story that nearly ruined UFC Qatar plans
UFC heavyweight contender Waldo Cortes-Acosta knocked out Shamil Gaziev on short notice at UFC Qatar – but things nearly went very differently.
Right now, Waldo Cortes-Acosta may be the most white hot heavyweight on the UFC’s entire roster. He has already achieved some great things in his young mixed martial arts career, and as we look ahead to the future, it certainly feels like he isn’t all too far away from a title shot.
Fresh off the back of a win over Ante Delija, Waldo Cortes-Acosta took on a short notice assignment to face off against Shamil Gaziev at UFC Qatar last weekend. As previously noted, he came away with a pretty impressive KO victory.
In a recent interview, though, Waldo Cortes-Acosta’s coach Javier Torres revealed that fight week was actually pretty complicated.
Waldo Cortes-Acosta’s coach explains near-miss
“The funny part is he got out first from the airplane, right? He got out first with his wife. Then I go after and I ask somebody, ‘Where are we going to go?’ They say, ‘Go to baggage claim area in the back and the bottom level is connecting flights.’ So I don’t see Waldo walking out. So I said, ‘Well, he went to the second level.’ I go to the second level, and the person tells me, and I walk far already, and then I call Waldo. I said, ‘Dude, where are you?’ He said, ‘I’m in the first level.’ ‘No, the first level is connecting flights, you got to go to the second level.’ We’re trying to figure out, me and him, how we’re going back.
“I’m trying to walk back to him and I said, ‘Go to doors four or five,’ whatever, and as I’m talking to him I just put my hand in the door with the phone and the alarm goes crazy. All the airport, like, ‘What is happening?’ I’m in a different country, I don’t know what’s happening. Three guys came in and then two police came in. I don’t even know how many people came in. They don’t speak the language, I don’t speak the language. I’m like, ‘Dude, what’s going on? If I run over here they’re going to put me in jail. I don’t know what to do.’”
“I waited. Six more security guys came in. They made me take my passport, they took my ticket, all my information, and then they escorted me out. They took me to a room, a special room for security, and I went to immigration and security. I’m thinking, ‘I got to pass all this, I don’t know what’s going on. They’re going to put me in jail, they’re going to throw me out, and this guy’s got to fight.’
“My thing was like, ‘Dude, the last moment is before you pass immigration,’ and I still got to pass immigration. That was all those police because the alarm went all crazy in all the airport, and it was my hand on the door. I’m talking to Waldo with my phone like this, and I put my hand in the door and that thing went off, the whole airport going crazy. I’m like, ‘Holy, I’m going to get in jail, killed. I’m not going to see the fight. My kids, my wife… I don’t know what’s going on.’ I was just going crazy.
“I’m stressed out because I’m waiting by the door in the back. The guy picking up the bags is waiting for me but I have three people in there. The guy says, ‘Oh, I want to drop this guy and come back.’ I passed like 35–40 minutes there waiting. I just thought, ‘They’re going to throw me in jail.’ In the office, there’s like 13 guys and I don’t speak the language. They’re talking in front of me and I’m like, ‘I’m going to go to jail and this guy’s got to fight.’”
