Ante Delija’s second UFC appearance ended in controversy on November 1, 2025, when a technical issue with an eye poke and subsequent replay review ultimately cost the Croatian heavyweight a potential win. Delija fought Waldo Cortes-Acosta in the co-main event at UFC Fight Night 263 and appeared to secure a first-round stoppage, but the decision was overturned after officials reviewed footage of an accidental eye poke, leading to the fight’s restart and his subsequent knockout loss at 3:59 of the first round.
Ante Delija vs. Waldo Cortes-Acosta and The Eye Poke
However, the situation took an unexpected turn when Nevada Athletic Commission officials reviewed video footage. Executive Director Jeff Mullen and referee Eric McMahon examined replays which clearly showed an eye poke had occurred before the knockout punches. According to UFC rules, an accidental eye poke can result in a no-contest or the fouled fighter’s ability to continue after being given up to five minutes of recovery time. Cortes-Acosta chose to continue despite severely limited vision in his injured eye.
After the restart, Cortes-Acosta immediately applied pressure and landed a precisely timed counter right hand, dropping Delija. The Dominican fighter followed with ground strikes until Smith stopped the bout and awarded Cortes-Acosta the win and a Performance of the Night bonus. Cortes-Acosta later explained his decision to continue in an interview: “I felt like I could continue. My eye is like 20 percent vision, but I don’t care***.”
Ante Delija responds
Delija’s response came through Instagram posts on November 2, in which he outlined five specific grievances regarding the service and ruleset application.
“I’m not sure if I hit him in the eye. I think it’s close to the eye and of course I want a video where you can see that stab clearly.”
“The referee did not show a ‘timeout’, but stopped the fight and therefore declared me the winner. That decision cannot be changed later!”
“The opponent sat relaxed looking at the images for more than a few minutes!”
According to Delija, Cortes-Acosta was given a longer recovery period during the repeat consultation, giving him time to psychologically reset and recover physically than would normally happen during a standard fight timeout.
“Repeat used after the interruption – which rules do not allow!!”
Concluding his statement, Delija emphasized: “I don’t ask for anything more, just honesty. I don’t run away from defeat. I respect every opponent and every outcome. But not when the rules are broken and I’m robbed.”
The incident was particularly ironic considering Delija’s comments prior to the fight. Earlier this week, Delija had directly criticized the eye poke issue at media day, stating that he had competed 33 times without committing a single eye poke and that the penalties for such violations should be severe. This statement turned out to be prescient in an unintentional way.
The timing of the controversy raised questions about the UFC’s standards. The event took place just seven days after Tom Aspinall’s heavyweight title defense against Ciryl Gane ended in a no contest following a double eye prick in the first round at UFC 321. Aspinall was unable to continue after the injury and was unable to resume the fight.
Cortes-Acosta’s knockout marked his first win in his last seven matches, significantly improving his record after an August loss to Sergei Pavlovich. For Delija, the defeat ended a two-fight winning streak in the UFC and marked a controversial end to what became an impressive run for the 35-year-old former PFL heavyweight champion, who had previously trained alongside UFC heavyweight champion Tom Aspinall at Evolution Fitness XL in the United Kingdom.
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