UFC Vegas 124 With Exciting Main Card Saturday Night

UFC Vegas 124 fight week rolls on. Counting this week's event from the UFC, there are five shows remaining between now and the conclusion of this year. The stretch run to the end of 2026 begins this Saturday night for the promotion.

Live coverage of UFC Vegas 124 begins late Saturday afternoon with the prelims at 5 pm ET/ 2 pm PT. Inside the United States of America, the show can be seen gavel-to-gavel on Paramount Plus. 

Main card action follows at 8 pm ET/ 5 pm PT on the Skydance-owned streaming service. If there are no more adjustments to be made between now and Saturday, the final version of UFC Vegas 124 will feature a 14-fight card from the No. 1 MMA promotion in the world.

UFC Vegas 124 Main Event: No. 6 Contender Waldo Cortes-Acosta vs. Johnny Walker: Cortes-Acosta Coming in on Skid

At the top of the bill is a heavyweight contest. The newly-made UFC Vegas 124 main event takes place between No. 6 contender Waldo Cortes-Acosta (17-4 MMA, 10-4 UFC) and Johnny Walker (23-10, 1 NC MMA, 9-7, 1 NC UFC.) This is a five-round fight at five minutes per round to close out the evening's activities.

Cortes-Acosta enters this weekend with a record of 3-2 in his last five fights. At the moment, he's dropped two fights in a row.

In September, he came out on the losing end of a unanimous decision against Curtis Blaydes (20-6, 1 NC MMA, 15-6, 1 NC UFC) during this year's incarnation of Noche UFC in Glendale, AZ. Which version of Waldo Cortes-Acosta is the one to show up on Saturday in UFC Vegas 124?

If it's the same Waldo Cortes-Acosta who rattled off three wins in a row, he'll be in good shape.

Johnny Walker With Second Fight in as Many Months

Across the way, Johnny Walker will be setting foot in the Octagon having gone 2-3 in his last five contests. On Oct. 3, during UFC 332 in Salt Lake City, he stopped Mick Parkin (10-2 MMA, 4-2 UFC) with a knee inside the opening round of the contest.

By the time the UFC Vegas 124 main event begins on Saturday night, five weeks, 35 days, will have elapsed between outings. Will the short gap be helpful or a hindrance?

UFC Vegas 124 Co-Main Event: No. 2 Contender Tatiana Suarez vs. No. 3 Contender Virna Jandiroba: Suarez Aiming to Take Crucial Step as Year Concludes

Immediately beforehand, it'll be moving day in the strawweight ranks. No. 2 contender Tatiana Suarez (12-1 MMA, 9-1 UFC) fights No. 3 contender Virna Jandiroba (23-4 MMA, 9-4 UFC.) This fight is a three-round contest at five minutes per round.

Suarez comes into the weekend sporting a 4-1 record in her last five trips to the cage. Presently, she's won two fights in a row.

Last time out, she scored a second-round submission by way of rear-naked choke over Loopy Godinez (15-6 MMA, 10-6 UFC) in April during UFC 327. With Suarez sitting at No. 2 in the rankings at 115, this is a crucial 15 minutes or less of action for her and her camp. Should she win here, a title bid versus Mackenzie Dern could await in the new year.

Virna Jandiroba Looks to Build Off of April Win

Meanwhile, Virna Jandiroba owns a 4-1 record of her own in her last five bouts. On April 4, she fought inside Meta Apex against Tabitha Ricci (12-5 MMA, 7-5 UFC.)

This loss by Ricci was the first of her current two-fight skid. The stakes are high for both fighters here, and although the contest is only slated for three rounds, expect Suarez and Jandiroba to approach this fight with the intensity of a five-round affair.

Which fighter emerges as the victor? Only time will tell.

UFC Vegas 124: Davey Grant vs. Elijah Smith: Grant Shows No Signs of Slowing Down

Also on the UFC Vegas 124 main card, the bantamweights do battle when Davey Grant (16-8 MMA, 9-7 UFC) fights Elijah Smith (10-1 MMA, 3-0 UFC.) The former has a 3-2 record in his last five appearances. On the night of April 25, he bested Adrian Luna Martinetti (17-2 MMA, 0-1 UFC.)

While Grant will turn 41 before the year ends, he's still interested in fighting for as long as possible, something he mentioned at Wednesday's press junket.

"The harder I train, the better I do in fights," he said. "The more healthy I can keep myself, then the longer I can keep this going and keep doing what I love."

Elijah Smith on Hot Streak

In the other corner, Elijah Smith is 5-0 in his last five trips to the cage under MMA rules. He's won eight fights in succession going into UFC Vegas 124.

Last March, he submitted Su Young You (17-4, 2 NC MMA, 3-1 UFC) with a second-round rear-naked choke. In the interim, he appeared in a grappling bout versus Ty Costlow, who submitted him by way of heel hook in the opening round.

Saturday marks Smith's 12th professional bout and fourth under the UFC banner. How will he fare against a veteran of Davey Grant's caliber?

Rest of the Card

UFC Vegas 124's main card is rounded out by the following fights:

• A light heavyweight bout matching Billy Elekana (10-2 MMA, 3-1 UFC) against Lucas Fernando (14-3 MMA, 1-0 UFC,)
• a women's bantamweight contest between Priscilla Cachoeira (13-9 MMA, 5-9 UFC) and Nina Milosevic (9-1 MMA, 1-0 UFC,)
• and a flyweight encounter pairing Mitch Raposo (11-3 MMA, 2-2 UFC) with Marcos Degli (15-3 MMA, UFC promotional debut.)