{"id":960641,"date":"2026-11-06T14:44:13","date_gmt":"2026-11-06T14:44:13","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/960641\/"},"modified":"2026-11-06T14:44:13","modified_gmt":"2026-11-06T14:44:13","slug":"ufc-vegas-124-preview-cortes-acosta-vs-walker-main-co-main-event-predictions","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/960641\/","title":{"rendered":"UFC Vegas 124 preview: \u2018Cortes Acosta vs. Walker\u2019 main, co-main event predictions"},"content":{"rendered":"

Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) is just one day away from the upcoming UFC Vegas 124 mixed martial arts (MMA) event<\/a>, which is set to go down tomorrow night (Sat., Nov. 7, 2026) on Paramount+<\/a> from inside Meta Apex<\/a> in Las Vegas, Nevada. UFC Vegas 124 features a heavyweight main event between 265-pound contenders Waldo Cortes Acosta and Johnny Walker, a five-round showdown that could shake up the division Top 10<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Before we dive into the main and co-main event, which includes the 115-pound collision between strawweight stalwarts Virna Jandiroba and Tatiana Suarez, check out Andrew Richardson\u2019s \u201cX-Factor\u201d breakdown for the rest of the UFC Vegas 124 main card by clicking here<\/a>. Get all the latest \u201cCortes Acosta vs. Walker\u201d odds and betting props courtesy of FanDuel right here<\/a>. For UFC Vegas 124 live results and play-by-play click here<\/a>.<\/p>\n

265 lbs.: Waldo Cortes Acosta vs. Johnny Walker<\/p>\n

Waldo \u201cSalsa Boy\u201d Cortes Acosta
Record: 17-4 | Age: 35 | Betting line: -230
Wins: 9 KO\/TKO, 1 SUB, 7 DEC | Losses: 0 KO\/TKO, 0 SUB, 4 DEC
Height: 6\u20194\u201d | Reach: 78\u201d | Stance: Orthodox
Significant Strikes Landed Per Minute: 5.03 | Striking accuracy: 47%
Strikes Absorbed Per Minute: 3.44 | Striking Defense: 55%
Takedown Average: 0.36 (50% accuracy) | Takedown Defense: 69%
Current Ranking: No. 8<\/a> | Last fight: Unanimous decision loss to Curtis Blaydes<\/p>\n

Johnny Walker
Record: 23-10, 1 NC | Age: 34 | Betting line: +190
Wins: 18 KO\/TKO, 3 SUB, 2 DEC | Losses: 6 KO\/TKO, 1 SUB, 3 DEC
Height: 6\u20196\u201c | Reach: 82\u201d | Stance: Orthodox
Significant Strikes Landed Per Minute: 3.98 | Striking accuracy: 55%
Strikes Absorbed Per Minute: 2.99 | Striking Defense: 45%
Takedown Average: 0.35 (50% accuracy) | Takedown Defense: 57%
Current Ranking: No. 12<\/a> | Last fight: Knockout win over Mick Parkin<\/p>\n

Waldo Cortes Acosta looked like he was going to be a problem for heavyweights in 2026 (and beyond) after a torrid 2025 run that returned a 4-1 record with three knockouts. \u201cSalsa Boy\u201d followed that up with a sensational second-round knockout win over Derrick Lewis, which seemed impressive at the time, until we realized Lewis was following the Bob Sapp blueprint for quick dives and easy paychecks. What followed was a considerable step up in competition and Cortes Acosta was unable to meet the challenge, dropping back-to-back decision losses to No. 2-ranked Alexander Volkov and No. 6-ranked Curtis Blaydes. Some fans still consider Cortes Acosta to be an up-and-coming prospect because of his stint on Dana White\u2019s \u201cContender Series\u201d at Meta Apex. But that was over four years ago and Cortes Acosta now has 14 fights inside the Octagon. He also turned 35 last month so I\u2019m not expecting any sort of evolution in his fight game. Fortunately, that may not matter for his upcoming fight against Johnny Walker, who has his own set of problems to deal with.<\/p>\n

\u201cI think he\u2019s trying to be better now at heavyweight because at light heavyweight he didn\u2019t do nothing at all,\u201d Cortes Acosta said at the UFC Vegas 124 media day<\/a>. \u201cHe didn\u2019t have a lot finishes at light heavyweight because everybody would knock him out. He doesn\u2019t have a chin. It\u2019s like a doorbell; it\u2019s easy to hit it. Now he thinks he can be at heavyweight and have a better chance to move forward and one day get a title shot, but before that he needs to pass me and a lot of people, real heavyweights. I don\u2019t need to measure anybody. I go after him and look to break his head. I don\u2019t think I need to play with anybody. I know now how my chin is, it\u2019s like metal, and my punches, if I move my feet, you\u2019re going to sleep.\u201d<\/p>\n

There was a time in the not-too-distant past when Johnny Walker was the most exciting (and the most gargantuan) light heavyweight on the roster. Like Cortes Acosta, the Brazilian made a name for himself on Dana White\u2019s \u201cContender Series\u201d in summer 2018 then went on to win three straight, all by way of first-round knockout. I don\u2019t know if Corey Anderson took his soul or exposed him for the one-trick pony he later turned out to be, but \u201cOvertime\u201d ended the Walker experiment at UFC 244 and Walker has a losing record in the seven years since that fight (6-7). That doesn\u2019t mean he\u2019s an automatic out, as we learned in the Mick Parkin fight at UFC 332 just last month. If you give Walker \u2014 who stands 6\u20196\u201d with an 82\u201d reach \u2014 ample room to work, he\u2019s going to land with something spectacular. How well he performs against Cortes Acosta all depends on how well he\u2019s able to maintain a stingy defense. Working against him is the fact that his UFC Vegas 124 main event is five rounds, giving \u201cSalsa Boy\u201d 25 minutes to land something of merit.<\/p>\n

\u201cHe\u2019s a very high-level fighter,\u201d Walker said at the UFC Vegas 124 media day<\/a>. \u201cGood boxing, good speed, good with the hands. We\u2019re about the same age as well, and that\u2019s a really good opportunity for me, fight a guy of that caliber. It\u2019s a big test, and I pass through that, it\u2019s just gonna show that I belong to the heavyweight division. I never make a plan. I just get ready for the worst situation. You think I planned to knock Mick Parkin like that last time? I hadn\u2019t planned that, just happened, you know? It\u2019s more like an instinct. You get ready, train, sharp your skills, everything \u2013 but the day of the fight, of course you follow a little bit of gameplan, but you can\u2019t predict 100 percent what\u2019s going to happen. I\u2019m 34 years old and very experienced fighter already. I\u2019ve been through this game for a long time. A win against a guy at this level is gonna put me in a very good position \u2013 and I believe I\u2019m gonna be deserving. Let\u2019s see this Saturday if I\u2019m ready or not.\u201d<\/p>\n

Walker has all the tools to win this fight \u2026 but does he have the chin? That may depend on how well he protects it. I would expect to see some of the flashiness of Walker early and often, with Cortes Acosta weathering the storm and perhaps even marching right through it.<\/p>\n

A first-round finish would not surprise me.<\/p>\n

Prediction: Cortes Acosta def. Walker by technical knockout<\/p>\n

\"Tim<\/a>\"MMA<\/p>\n

115 lbs.: Virna Jandiroba vs. Tatiana Suarez<\/p>\n

Virna \u201cCarcara\u201d Jandiroba
Record: 23-4 | Age: 38 | Betting line: +170
Wins: 1 KO\/TKO, 14 SUB, 8 DEC | Losses: 0 KO\/TKO, 0 SUB, 4 DEC
Height: 5\u20193\u201c | Reach: 64\u201d | Stance: Orthodox
Significant Strikes Landed Per Minute: 2.27 | Striking accuracy: 41%
Strikes Absorbed Per Minute: 2.86 | Striking Defense: 55%
Takedown Average: 3.13 (39% accuracy) | Takedown Defense: 72%
Current Ranking: No. 2<\/a> | Last fight: Unanimous decision victory over Tabatha Ricci<\/p>\n

Tatiana Suarez
Record: 12-1 | Age: 35 | Betting line: -205
Wins: 2 KO\/TKO, 6 SUB, 4 DEC | Losses: 0 KO\/TKO, 0 SUB, 1 DEC
Height: 5\u20195\u201c | Reach: 66\u201d | Stance: Southpaw
Significant Strikes Landed Per Minute: 2.86 | Striking accuracy: 60%
Strikes Absorbed Per Minute: 1.63 | Striking Defense: 44%
Takedown Average: 4.52 (45% accuracy) | Takedown Defense: 57%
Current Ranking: No. 3<\/a> | Last fight: Submission win over Lupita Godinez<\/p>\n

Virna Jandiroba remains in the No. 2 spot at 115 pounds and is widely considered the top female strawweight behind current champion Mackenzie Dern and former titleholder Zhang Weili, who seems content to do anything but fight. Jandiroba lost a very close contest to Dern at UFC 321 roughly one year back, a bout that was overshadowed by the Ciryl Gane-Tom Aspinall eye poke drama. A close fight doesn\u2019t mean I thought she won or that it was even a robbery, it just means it was close. The point I\u2019m trying to make is that Jandiroba belongs at the top of the division based on her performances and her 6-1 run over the last five years. Her inability to finish fights has invited the usual criticism, mostly because \u201cCarcara\u201d has 14 submission victories and only three of them have taken place inside the Octagon. That\u2019s probably because Jandiroba is now fighting the absolute best of the best and finishes don\u2019t come as easily for any combatant \u2014 male of female \u2014 in the upper echelon of the promotion.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis is a very important fight,\u201d Jandiroba said at the UFC Vegas 124 media day<\/a>. \u201cWe\u2019re up there in the rankings, No. 2 and 3. So, we\u2019re looking for that title shot. She is a renowned and experienced grappler, and I\u2019m an experienced grappler, so I look at it as a clash of titans \u2013 and I\u2019m very happy to be back fighting. I definitely think there\u2019s a message that needs to be sent, and I think it\u2019s that I\u2019m still a part of the game. I continue to be here, and livelier than ever. We obviously don\u2019t know how the fight\u2019s gonna go. We want to make sure to get a finish to get the chance. I think we should be next for that. You want to finish a fight strong, and you want to end it on a note that a message is sent, and the organization gets impressed enough to give you a title shot. I think one of the biggest lessons I took [from the Dern loss] was to be more forceful and really strive to get a knockout or a finish, and basically go for it from the beginning.\u201d<\/p>\n

Tatiana Suarez also had her crack at the 115-pound crown when she battled the aforementioned Weili at UFC 312 in early 2025. Suarez looked utterly lost against \u201cMagnum\u201d and failed to capture the title, while also registering the first loss of her professional MMA career. Undaunted, Suarez returned to capture consecutive victories over Amanda Lemos and Lupita Godinez, the latter of which ended by way of second-round submission. Suarez averages nearly five takedowns for every 15 minutes of action and will undoubtedly look to implement her wrestling here, as well, though you could argue the ground becomes a dangerous game to play against an experienced grappler like Jandiroba. The Brazilian has never been finished in 27 professional fights and I don\u2019t think that\u2019s going to change this weekend in Vegas. Instead, I expect the fight to come down to who can control the standup, as Jandiroba will also be looking to get this fight to the floor. Suarez is the more accomplished wrestler but as we saw in the Colby Covington vs. Raul Rosas Jr. matchup at Hype Italy, that doesn\u2019t always equate to guaranteed dominance.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019re at the top of the division other than Weili,\u201d Suarez said at the UFC Vegas 124 media day<\/a>. \u201cSo, I just feel like it makes sense that we\u2019re gonna be next in line for the belt. I took a lot from [the Weili loss]. It\u2019s helped me in a lot of ways mentally, it\u2019s helped me understand things that I also have to improve on, and more so the mindset of it all. Up until that point, I\u2019ve never faced any adversity in a fight. So, that was the first time I\u2019ve ever had to face any type of adversity, and I never stopped coming. I always kept trying, so that\u2019s something to be said as well. So it does show me that I always just never quit. I\u2019m never just going to be like, \u2018Okay, I\u2019m done.\u2019 She hit me with some good shots, and I just kept coming forward. But I think more importantly, I just feel like being a skilled fighter and having the fight IQ is important when you have big fights like that. I always look to go and finish my opponents and have a statement performance. I always want to go out there and finish my opponent, so that\u2019s what I am focused on. That\u2019s where my energy\u2019s going. I want to finish the fight, make everybody on TV happy.\u201d<\/p>\n

This is a tough fight to call but the bookies are siding with Suarez, presumably because of her ability to control opponents and dictate the pace. Outside of Weili, she\u2019s never lost a fight whereas Jandiroba has fallen to the likes of Amanda Ribas. Perhaps more telling, at least in terms of this fight, is the fact that \u201cCarcara\u201d was defeated by Carla Esparza, an accomplished wrestler just like Suarez.<\/p>\n

Prediction: Suarez def. Jandiroba by decision <\/p>\n

Don\u2019t forget to check out the rest of the UFC Vegas 124 main card predictions RIGHT HERE<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) is just one day away from the upcoming UFC Vegas 124 mixed martial arts…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":960642,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[444],"tags":[49,48,641,33601,638,82,139445,702,17055,8729,4454],"class_list":["post-960641","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-mma","tag-ca","tag-canada","tag-fighting","tag-latest-ufc-mma-news","tag-mma","tag-sports","tag-ufc-on-paramount","tag-ufc-news","tag-ufc-predictions","tag-ufc-previews","tag-upcoming-ufc-events"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/960641","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=960641"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/960641\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/960642"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=960641"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=960641"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=960641"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}