Cortes-Acosta Vows to Go Straight at Walker: "Break the Head Right Away"

Waldo Cortes-Acosta has promised there will be no feeling-out process when he meets Johnny Walker in the main event of UFC Vegas 124 on Saturday. Speaking at the event's media day on Wednesday, the sixth-ranked heavyweight made his intentions plain. "I go for him, break the head right away," Cortes-Acosta said, adding that "everybody" knocks Walker out — a reference to Walker's history of stoppage defeats in the UFC. Walker has been stopped four times inside the Octagon, by Corey Anderson in 2019, Jamahal Hill in 2022, and Magomed Ankalaev and Volkan Oezdemir in 2024. But the Brazilian has rebuilt himself since moving up to heavyweight, knocking out England's Mick Parkin with a knee in the first round at UFC 332 in October, his debut in the division. Cortes-Acosta, 17-4, comes into the fight on two straight decision defeats, to Curtis Blaydes and Alexander Volkov, and knows a win over the popular Walker would steady his place in the top six. Walker, 23-10, accepted the five-round headliner on short notice after the original main event between Sean Brady and Gabriel Bonfim fell apart when Brady withdrew with a staph infection in his knee. The fight tops the card at the Meta APEX in Las Vegas on Saturday, November 7, with the main card starting at 8 p.m. Eastern on Paramount+.