Waldo Cortes-Acosta meets Johnny Walker in the new main event of UFC Vegas 124 on November 7 at Meta Apex in Las Vegas. The heavyweight bout replaces Gabriel Bonfim and Sean Brady, whose fight fell apart after Brady’s injury.
An Injury Reshapes the Card
Sean Brady withdrew from his scheduled bout against Gabriel Bonfim, originally the UFC Vegas 124 headliner, after sustaining an injury. Journalist Laerte Viana first reported the withdrawal, a report Cageside Press confirmed on October 29. Bonfim is off the card entirely and is expected to be rebooked, with no opponent or date set yet.
Cortes-Acosta and Walker Step Into the Main Event
The heavyweight matchup between Waldo Cortes-Acosta and Johnny Walker fills the vacated headliner spot. Walker, 23-10 with 1 no contest, fights for just the second time at heavyweight after moving up from light heavyweight. He knocked out Mick Parkin with a knee earlier this month at UFC 332 and has gone 2-1 over his last three fights. The Meta AI rankings place him in the heavyweight top 15, though media panels have yet to rank him. Cortes-Acosta is 1-2 in 2026, having beaten Derrick Lewis in January before back to back losses to Alexander Volkov and Curtis Blaydes.
A UFC division preview published in January 2026 already listed Cortes-Acosta among the heavyweight contenders, alongside Ciryl Gane and Alexander Volkov, around champion Tom Aspinall. Walker was not part of that picture, since he was still fighting at light heavyweight before moving up to heavyweight this year.
Suarez and Jandiroba, Two Former Title Challengers
The co-main event pits Tatiana Suarez against Virna Jandiroba at strawweight. Suarez, ranked No. 2 in the media poll and No. 3 in the Meta rankings, suffered her only career loss against then-champion Zhang Weili in a title fight, then beat Amanda Lemos and Loopy Godinez. Jandiroba, ranked No. 3 in the media poll and No. 2 in the Meta rankings, challenged for the vacant title against Mackenzie Dern before rebounding with a decision win over Tabatha Ricci. The winner should earn another crack at the strawweight belt.
Full UFC Vegas 124 Card
The rest of the main card pairs Davey Grant against Elijah Smith at bantamweight. Grant is 40 years old and a TUF 18 finalist, while Smith, a Dana White’s Contender Series graduate, has won eight straight. Ko Seok-hyeon faces Wellington Turman, and Billy Elekana meets Lucas Fernando at light heavyweight. Elekana, a Las Vegas resident, carries a three fight win streak, and Fernando has won five in a row. Mantas Kondratavicius, 9-1, and Andre Petroski, a TUF 29 alum, open the main card at middleweight.
The preliminary card features Gabriel Lorenco, on an eight fight win streak, against fellow Contender Series graduate Thomas Petersen, then Karine Silva against Gabriella Fernandes, two ranked Brazilian flyweights. Mitch Raposo, 11-3, takes on Marcos Degli, a former LFA champion on a 13 fight win streak. Jose Mauro Delano, 11-1 over his last 12 fights, meets Murtazali Magomedov, who has won 11 straight. Keiichiro Nakamura, a Road to UFC winner on an eight fight streak, faces Ollie Schmid at featherweight in Schmid’s second octagon appearance. The card closes with Priscila Cachoeira, looking to end a three fight skid, against Nina Nikolija Milosevic, who has won nine straight, and with Jonny Parsons returning after more than three years away to face Jose Henrique Souza, a 24 year old Brazilian prospect at 9-1.
Start Time and How to Watch
UFC Vegas 124 goes live at 8 p.m. ET (5 p.m. PT, 6 p.m. MT, 7 p.m. CT) on November 7 at Meta Apex in Las Vegas. That is 1 a.m. in the United Kingdom and 2 a.m. in Central Europe on November 8. Paramount+ streams the card in the United States. RMC Sport carries the event in France.
What Is at Stake at Heavyweight
A win would push Walker further into heavyweight top 10 conversations after a promising early run in the division. For Cortes-Acosta, beating an established name would stop a two fight skid against Volkov and Blaydes heading into the new year. The result could shape the UFC’s next moves atop a crowded heavyweight picture, while the title itself stays on hold as Tom Aspinall recovers from the stoppage loss to Ciryl Gane at UFC 321 on October 25, 2025.
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