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UFC Vegas 124 Features New Heavyweight Main Event: Waldo Cortes-Acosta vs. Johnny Walker

Following Sean Brady's withdrawal due to injury from his scheduled fight against Gabriel Bonfim, the UFC quickly arranged a fresh headliner for the November 7 event. The heavyweight bout will now feature Waldo Cortes-Acosta facing off against Johnny Walker.

Confirmed Matchup Details

Reliable sources confirmed this matchup to Heavy.com after Brazilian MMA journalist Laerte Viana initially reported it. Currently, Cortes-Acosta is ranked sixth in the UFC Media rankings and eighth in the UFC Meta rankings. Walker holds the twelfth position in the Meta rankings.

Waldo Cortes-Acosta's Journey So Far

The Dominican fighter entered the UFC in 2022 through the Contender Series. Early expectations placed him as a future top-10 contender, but he suffered a setback in his third UFC fight with a unanimous decision loss to Marcos Rogério de Lima, which quieted much of the initial hype. Yet, he bounced back impressively with five consecutive wins, including victories over Serghei Spivac and Ryan Spann.

This winning streak earned Cortes-Acosta a fight against highly-ranked Sergei Pavlovich, who defeated him by unanimous decision last August. Since then, Cortes-Acosta delivered a strong finishing run by stopping Ante Delija, Shamil Gaziev, and Derrick Lewis within 90 days. That performance secured him a bout with top contender Alexander Volkov earlier this year, where Volkov controlled the fight and won after three rounds.

Recently, Cortes-Acosta struggled with a lackluster showing against Curtis Blaydes, leaving him on a two-fight losing streak heading into his clash with Johnny Walker. He will need to end that skid if he hopes to move forward in the heavyweight ranks.

Johnny Walker's Move to Heavyweight

Walker’s upcoming fight marks only his second appearance in the heavyweight division, offering a chance to break into the top 8. Previously competing at light-heavyweight between 2018 and early 2026, Walker was once touted as a rising star with the potential to challenge Jon Jones. He kicked off his UFC career with three first-round finishes but stumbled afterward, winning only one of his next five fights.

Between 2022 and 2023, Walker regained momentum with a three-fight winning streak, positioning himself near title contention. Unfortunately, he suffered knockout losses to Magomed Ankalaev and Volkan Oezdemir in 2024. After a rebound win over Zhang Mingyang last year, Walker considered moving up to heavyweight but still fought Dominick Reyes at light-heavyweight, losing a split decision.

This year, Walker officially jumped to heavyweight and started strong by knocking out Mick Parkin in the first round. Now, facing Cortes-Acosta, a win would push him firmly into the top tier of the heavyweight division.

UFC Vegas 124 Fight Card – November 7, Las Vegas

Main Card

  • Waldo Cortes-Acosta vs. Johnny Walker
  • Tatiana Suarez vs. Virna Jandiroba
  • Davey Grant vs. Elijah Smith
  • SeokHyeon Ko vs. Wellington Turman
  • Mantas Kondratavičius vs. Andre Petroski
  • Billy Elekana vs. Lucas Fernando

Preliminary Card

  • Gabriel Lorenço vs. Thomas Petersen
  • Karine Silva vs. Gabriella Fernandes
  • Mitch Raposo vs. Marcos Degli
  • José Delano vs. Murtazali Magomedov
  • Keiichiro Nakamura vs. Ollie Schmid
  • Austin Bashi vs. Lucas Brennan
  • Priscila Cachoeira vs. Nina Milošević
  • Jonny Parsons vs. José Henrique Souza

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