Johnny Walker stops Waldo Cortes-Acosta in the third round to win UFC Vegas 124's short-notice main event

Johnny Walker stopped Waldo Cortes-Acosta at 2:27 of the third round on Nov. 7, winning the short-notice heavyweight main event that UFC Vegas 124 needed after its original welterweight headliner fell apart. The official UFC.com results page and the live event page both list the finish as a TKO by strikes, and the bout earned Walker and Cortes-Acosta a Fight of the Night bonus, according to Cageside Press's bonus report.

The fight nearly went the other way. Per Cageside Press's round-by-round recap, a Cortes-Acosta punch dropped Walker in the first round, and Cortes-Acosta pinned him against the fence late in the round with a flurry of overhand punches. Walker recovered and spent the second round chopping at Cortes-Acosta's legs with low kicks, which slowed his movement heading into the third. With both fighters tiring, Walker landed a head kick that dazed Cortes-Acosta, followed it with a right hand that put him down, and closed out the finish with follow-up strikes.

This was Walker's second fight at heavyweight after moving up from light heavyweight. He had opened the move with a first-round knockout of Mick Parkin at UFC 332 in October. Cortes-Acosta, the promotion's then-No. 6 ranked heavyweight, was making his first UFC main event appearance; he came in on a two-fight skid of decision losses to Alexander Volkov and Curtis Blaydes.

The heavyweight bout only became the headliner after Sean Brady withdrew from his scheduled welterweight main event against Gabriel Bonfim because of an injury, a change first reported by Brazilian journalist Laerte Viana and relayed by Sherdog and Cageside Press on Oct. 29 and 30, before the UFC's own announcement confirmed it. Bonfim is expected to be rebooked for a future card.

The rest of the card

In the co-main event, Tatiana Suarez won a unanimous decision over Virna Jandiroba, with scores of 30-27, 30-27 and 29-28. Cageside Press's recap described a grappling-heavy fight in which Suarez controlled much of the action with takedowns and top position but did limited damage. Elsewhere on the main card, Elijah Smith knocked out Davey Grant in the first round and Nina Milosevic stopped Priscila Cachoeira in the second, with Smith and prelim winner Thomas Petersen each earning a Performance of the Night bonus.