UFC Vegas 124 preview: a main event nobody planned
Waldo Cortes-Acosta vs Johnny Walker headlines UFC Vegas 124 on Saturday, November 7 — a main event nobody planned.
Saturday night at the Meta Apex in Las Vegas, the UFC closes fight week with a main event nobody planned.
Waldo Cortes-Acosta vs Johnny Walker. Five rounds. Heavyweight. That is the headliner for UFC Vegas 124, also billed as UFC Fight Night 293, on Saturday, November 7.
How the card got reshuffled
This was supposed to be Sean Brady vs Gabriel Bonfim at welterweight. Then Brady withdrew with a knee staph infection, the bout was cancelled, and Bonfim came off the card.
The UFC turned to the heavyweights. Cortes-Acosta and Walker both took the five-round headliner on relatively short notice.
The main event
Cortes-Acosta (17-4) is a top-10 heavyweight and a pressure boxer. The Dominican, who trains in Phoenix, is fighting to stop the first two-fight skid of his career. He knocked out Derrick Lewis in the second round at UFC 324 in January. Since then he has dropped decisions to Alexander Volkov and Curtis Blaydes.
Walker (23-10, 1 NC) is the wild card. The Brazilian spent years at light heavyweight, then stopped cutting weight and moved up. His heavyweight debut could not have gone better: a first-round knockout of Mick Parkin at UFC 332 on October 3, good enough for a Performance of the Night bonus.
The physical gap is real. Walker is 34, 6-foot-6, with an 82-inch reach. Cortes-Acosta is 35, 6-foot-4, with a 78-inch reach. Both men fight orthodox.
The style clash is simple. Cortes-Acosta wants to walk Walker down, close the distance, and land compact power punches inside. Walker wants to keep it long, use his kicks and unorthodox bursts, and make Cortes-Acosta reach for him. Both men can end a fight with one shot. Both men took this fight on short notice.
The co-main has title stakes
Tatiana Suarez (12-1) meets Virna Jandiroba (23-4) at strawweight, and the winner is right in the title conversation.
Jandiroba fought Mackenzie Dern for the vacant belt at UFC 321 and lost the decision. She started the climb back in April with a decision win over Tabatha Ricci. Suarez lost her own title shot to Zhang Weili in early 2025, then won two straight, including an April submission of Loopy Godinez. Beat the other woman on Saturday, and a callout of champion Dern writes itself.
The rest of the main card
Veteran bantamweight Davey Grant takes on rising prospect Elijah Smith. Seokhyeon Ko faces Wellington Turman at welterweight. Billy Elekana meets Lucas Fernando at light heavyweight. Mantas Kondratavicius meets Andre Petroski at middleweight.
How to watch
UFC Vegas 124, Saturday, November 7, from the Meta Apex in Las Vegas. Prelims stream at 5 p.m. ET / 2 p.m. PT. The main card streams at 8 p.m. ET / 5 p.m. PT. Everything is on Paramount+.
No result to report yet. That is Saturday's job.
