Waldo Cortes-Acosta vs. Johnny Walker Set as New UFC Vegas 124 Main Event After Sean Brady Withdraws

How UFC Vegas 124 Got a New Main Event

During a sit-down on The BradyBagz Show, Brady revealed that he had to back out of the fight because of a staph infection. The Philadelphia native believes it likely started from a small cut, but doctors confirmed a few days later that it was a staph infection. He said:

“Last week, Tuesday, I practiced in the morning. Everything was going fine. By 9:00 at night, I couldn’t walk. I knew this wasn’t bursitis; I knew it was an infection.”

With Brady out, the promotion needed to find an opponent to fight against Bonfim. However, a replacement could not be found in time. Hence, the Brazilian is off the card. "Marretinha," who has won five consecutive fights, is expected to be rebooked for a later date.

Waldo Cortes-Acosta and Johnny Walker Step Into the Main Event

For Cortes-Acosta, this is not the first time he has accepted a bout on short notice. Last November, the Dominican travelled to Qatar on a three-day notice and knocked out Shamil Gaziev in the first round. That win was part of a three-fight knockout streak, which also included wins over Ante Delija and Derrick Lewis. However, "Salsa Boy" has lost by back-to-back decisions to Alexander Volkov in May and Curtis Blaydes in September.

On the other hand, Walker is coming off an impressive start to his heavyweight run. After losing by decision to Dominick Reyes at UFC 327 in April, the 34-year-old moved up from light heavyweight and made his heavyweight debut against Mick Parkin at UFC 332 on Oct. 3.

That said, Cortes-Acosta is focused on getting back to winning ways, while Walker looks to build on his successful move to heavyweight.

What Remains on the Card

For now, the rest of the UFC Vegas 124 main card stays the same. The co-main event features No. 2-ranked strawweight Tatiana Suarez against No. 3-ranked Virna Jandiroba, whereas the other main card matchups include Davey Grant vs. Elijah Smith, Seok Hyeon Ko vs. Wellington Turman, Billy Elekana vs. Lucas Fernando, and Mantas Kondratavičius vs. Andre Petroski.