Curtis Blaydes vs. Waldo Cortes-Acosta prediction, pick, time for Noche UFC

Curtis Blaydes and Waldo Cortes-Acosta meet at Noche UFC on Saturday at Diamond Desert Arena in Glendale, Ariz. Check out this quick breakdown of the matchup from MMA Junkie analyst Dan Tom.

Curtis Blaydes vs. Waldo Cortes-Acosta Noche UFC preview

Curtis Blaydes (19-6 MMA, 14-6 UFC) has had an up-and-down run of things lately. Although it was $100,000 Fight of the Night performance, he now needs to build back up after a loss to Josh Hokit at UFC Freedom 250.

Waldo Cortes-Acosta (17-3 MMA, 10-3 UFC) saw his three-fight winning streak, which included two bonus-winning finishes, snapped by a grinding Alexander Volkov in May. A win over a

Curtis Blaydes vs. Waldo Cortes-Acosta Noche UFC expert pick, prediction

Filling out the main card is a heavyweight showdown between Curtis Blaydes and Waldo Cortes-Acosta.

As awesome as it was to see Blaydes compete in an instant heavyweight classic earlier this year, I worry about his propensity to strike more than he should opposite a combatant like Cortes-Acosta.

A former Dominican baseball player, Cortes-Acosta can pitch the fast and powerful punches one would stereotype from his background. I doubt that he has the skills to contend with Blaydes off his back, but Cortes-Acosta is still showing fight-to-fight improvements, so leave some room to be surprised.

I'm a big fan of Blaydes and will be hoping he proves me wrong here, but his recent lack of replicable wins and wrestling urgency makes it hard for me to pick him against a confident operator like Cortes-Acosta.

The pick is Cortes-Acosta by knockout in Round 1.

Curtis Blaydes vs. Waldo Cortes-Acosta Noche UFC odds

The oddsmakers and the public favor the Dominican fighter, listing Cortes-Acosta -210 and Blaydes +176 via FanDuel.

Curtis Blaydes vs. Waldo Cortes-Acosta Noche UFC start time, how to watch

Blaydes and Cortes-Acosta are expected to walk to the cage at approximately 5:45 p.m. ET. The fight streams live on Paramount+ .