UFC Vegas 124: Кортес-Акоста, Уокерын тулааны бооцооны гол сонголтууд

UFC Vegas 124 happens this weekend (Sat., Nov. 7, 2026) inside META APEX in Las Vegas, Nevada. The main event for the mixed martial arts (MMA) promotion’s latest home game is Waldo Cortes-Acosta vs. Johnny Walker in the Heavyweight division. This main event was put together late, after the initial headliner between Gabriel Bonfim vs. Sean Brady fell through because of a nasty staph infection.

The co-main event for this one is a match-up of recent title challengers with Tatiana Suarez vs. Virna Jandiroba. The remainder of the main card is made up of Davey Grant vs. Elijah Smith, Seokhyeon Ko vs. Wellington Turman, Billy Elekana vs. Lucas Fernando and Mantas Kondratavicius vs. Andre Petroski.

Thomas Petersen vs. Gabriel Lorenca is the featured ‘Prelim’ for this event. The undercard also has Priscila Cachoeira vs. Nina Milosevic and Karine Silva vs. Gabriella Fernandes.

As always there are lots to bet on at this event. Checkout those odds below:

UFC Vegas 124 Main Card Money Line Odds

Waldo Cortes-Acosta (-205) vs. Johnny Walker (+170)

Cortes-Acosta’s 2025 was one for the ages. “Salsa Boy” went 4-1 that calendar year, which he capped off with technical knockout wins over Ante Delija and Shamil Gaziev, which were just 21 days apart. Cortes-Acosta’s activity, finishes and pirate cosplay had him threatening to Make Heavyweight Fun Again. And 2026 started well for him, with an easy finish over Derrick Lewis (see it here). Since then, he was out-classed by Alexander Volkov and lost a dud of a fight against Curtis Blaydes.

Walker is now trying to Make Heavyweight Fun Again. He debuted in the division in October and destroyed Mick Parkin with a brutal clinch knee (see it here). That was Walker’s first fight since his split decision loss to Dominick Reyes in April. That was probably the worst fight of the year.

I like Cortes-Acosta in this bout and a big reason for that is his incredible chin. He might have the best chin in the promotion. His only loss in 2025 was to Sergei Pavlovich. That was a decision, despite Cortes-Acosta being hit with some of the biggest non-KO-causing shots I’ve ever seen. He took 61 significant strikes from Pavlovich. I don’t think Alex Pereira is going to take much more than 10 of those before going down later this month.

If Walker can’t finish someone, then he’s in trouble. His own chin isn’t great and he’s not much of a strategist out there. If Cortes-Acosta is still standing, then Walker is probably getting out-struck from range or getting pushed into the fence.

Cortes-Acosta had a nice little run of finishes last year, but historically he’s been a bit of a decision machine in UFC. That makes the over very appealing. The round total is 1.5 and the odds are -195. With that being so close to the moneyline, I’ll just side with Cortes-Acosta, just in case he turns Walker’s face into claymation — like we’ve seen before.

Best bet: Waldo Cortes-Acosta moneyline (-205)

Tatiana Suarez (-198) vs. Virna Jandiroba (+164)

Suarez lost a very lopsided decision to then-Strawweight champion, Zhang Weili, in early 2025. Since then, she’s won twice, beating Amanda Lemos and Loopy Godinez. The Lemos performance was so-so, but she wiped the floor with Godinez and submitted her in the second (see it here).

Jandiroba lost to Mackenzie Dern last year in a fight for the vacant title. She’s only fought once since then. That was a smothering decision over Tabatha Ricci.

I’m not looking forward to this one. Both these women are very good at what they do. What they do just isn’t terribly interesting to watch. I love wrestling and grappling, but I think this match-up is going to result in Suarez getting Jandoriba down. And then Jandiroba being too good defensively for Suarez to do anything big down there.

I have Suarez winning in this scenario, since wrestlers generally do a good job of nullifying BJJ players at this level. There is a chance these two have a very boring kickboxing match, too, with either woman believing that’s where they have an advantage.

Suarez probably wins that scenario, too.

Best bet: Tatiana Suarez moneyline (-198)

Davey Grant (+220) vs. Elijah Smith (-270)

Grant must have found a fountain of youth somewhere around County Durham. The 40-year-old has won three of his last four fights, against much younger opposition. That one loss was a first round guillotine against Charles Jourdain. The wins include a decision over Adrian Luna Martinetti, which also netted him a “Fight of the Night” bonus.

Smith is 3-0 in UFC. Last time out, he submitted Su Young You (see it here). Before that, he smashed Toshiomi Kazama with a devastating slam knockout (see it here).

Like with Jourdain, I think the quality of the opponent here is just too good for Grant to pull out another big win during this late career renaissance. Jourdain’s striking was just too good for Grant, but against everyone else Grant’s volume striking was able to win out. I don’t think he can do that with Smith. Smith hits hard and is very athletic. He’s also got great wrestling.

I think Smith is going to be able to catch up to Grant and take the fight wherever he wants to take it. I’ve really enjoyed watching Grant over the last few years, but there’s a reason this roster isn’t filled with 40 year olds. I think this could get ugly for the Englishman.

I’m taking Smith minus the points, because I think he gets a finish.

Best bet: Elijah Smith -7.5 (-120)

Seokhyeon Ko (-750) vs. Wellington Turman (+525)

Ko had one of the best UFC debuts I’ve seen in recent years. That was in June, 2025 when he schooled Oban Elliott on the feet and on the ground. That win doesn’t look as good today, though, given Elliott’s continued struggles. Ko followed up that win by beating Phil Rowe. In July, he lost to Jean-Paul Lebosnoyani. That doesn’t look so bad, though, given how good JPL might be.

Turman hasn’t fought since Dec. 2023. He was supposed to fight Islam Dulatov in July, but that fell through. Turman is 3-6 in UFC and has wins over Misha Cirkunov and Sam Alvey. He’s lost his last three fights; to Jared Gooden, Randy Brown and Andre Petroski.

It’s hard to feel confident about someone returning after a three year lay-off. The stats on fighters returning after that much time clearly favor the more active fighter.

Turman is also up against a very strong opponent here. I’m willing to be kind about the loss to Lebosnoyani, because I am very high on Lebosnoyani. So, I think this will be a return to the win column for the Korean here. I’m obviously not alone in that thinking — Ko is the biggest favorite on the card.

I’m going to take the over here, though. Ko is a patient fighter and I think we’re going to see a lot of wrestling out of him here (Randy Brown was able to take down Turman … twice).

Best bet: Over 1.5 rounds (-215)

Billy Elekana (+245) vs. Lucas Fernando (-305)

Former PFL and LFA fighter Elekana debuted on short notice and lost to Bogdan Guskov in 2025. Since then he’s won three fights. He won his last two fights by rear naked choke, finishing Kevin Christian and then Junior Tafa (see it here).

Fernando is one of three former LFA champs on the card. He vacated his title in August to debut in UFC. He won that debut, over Rafael Tobias, by third round TKO (see it here). He’s 14-3. Among those three losses are Azamat Bekoev and Cesar Almeida (both by decision).

Fernando is a creative striker with a ton of power. His kicks are especially good. He hit Tobias with hard body kicks and leg kicks (and also landed a question mark kick). Joe Rogan called him “a new contender” on the call in that debut.

I think that’s hyperbolic, but I also think his offense is probably good enough to get through Elekana. I do like Elekana, though. He’s very tough and crafty. And he’s a potential spoiler here. I’m still going with Fernando, though.

Best bet: Lucas Fernando moneyline (-305)

Mantas Kondratavicius (-298) vs. Andre Petroski (+240)

Kondratavicius won on Contender Series last year. He had his proper debut in March. That was a unanimous decision win over Antonio Trocoli. He’s 9-1 in MMA after switching over from kickboxing. He was supposed to fight Wes Schultz here.

Petroski was supposed to fight Azamat Bekoev last week, but was moved over here after Bekoev fell out. Petroski is on a three fight losing streak and has recently been stopped by Cody Brundage and Cam Rowston. His last win was a decision over Rodolfo Vieira in Feb. 2025.

Kondratavicius is a very powerful striker, but his gas tank was left wanting in that Trocoli fight. His wrestling and grappling looked very under-developed, too.

The big questions here are whether Petroski is durable enough to survive Kondratavicius’ early striking attacks and whether Kondratavicius is disciplined enough to save some energy and not gas out if Petroski starts leaning on him.

It’s really hard to side with Petroski here, given that he looked so bad in those back to back losses. But, I’m also not ready to trust Kondratavicius until he’s done more at this level.

I’ll chicken out and take the over here, since the round total feels low.

Best bet: Over 1.5 rounds (+165)

UFC Vegas 124 ‘Prelims’ Under Card Odds

Gabriel Lorenco (+136) vs. Thomas Petersen (-162)

Lorenco came off Contender Series in September. He was supposed to debut against Alvin Hines here, but Hines has to pull out. Lorenco is 8-1 with his only loss being his pro debut in 2021. He’s won six of those fights by KO.

Petersen was the victim of a Valter Walker calf slicer in July (see it here). Before that he eked out a majority decision over Guilherme Pat and was KO’d by Vitor Petrino (see it here). He’s 3-4 in UFC with three losses by knockout.

Petersen has been rocked in a lot of his fights, despite giving up only 2.57 sig. strikes a minute and having a 54 percent defense. I think that tells us just how powerful Heavyweight strikers are, in that they don’t need to land often (or cleanly a lot of the times) to score finishes.

Lorenco looked very raw and sloppy on Contender Series. But, this is Heavyweight, so that was enough to knockout his opponent. I feel like Petersen has seen enough, by now, to not fall for Lorenco’s big winning shots. If he can stay out of trouble there and possibly duck under them to get takedowns, then he should be able to get the win here.

Best bet: Thomas Petersen moneyline (-162)

Karine Silva (-218) vs. Gabriella Fernandes (+180)

Silva is coming off decision losses to Jasmine Jasudavicius and Maycee Barber. Her last win was a decision over Dione Barbosa. The 32 year old is now 19-7 and 5-3 in UFC.

Fernandes’ claim to fame is upsetting Wang Cong with a submission as a +625 underdog. She beat Julija Stoliarenko after that but, in March, she was TKO’d by Casey O’Neill (see it here).

Get ready for a pretty low intensity kickboxing battle here with mostly leg kicks landing. If this does hit the ground, then Silva should have a pretty easy time of controlling Fernandes. However, Fernandes has pretty good takedown defense and she might be able to wear Silva down in the striking exchanges.

I think we’re destined for a close decision here, so I’ll take the plus money on Fernandes.

Best bet: Gabriella Fernandes moneyline (+180)

Mitch Raposo (+185) vs. Marcos Degli (-225)

Raposo is coming off a split decision win over the late Allan Nascimento in June. Before that he got a unanimous decision over Azat Maksum. That was the fight where, after getting his hand raised he called out oddsmakers for his nearly +400 odds.

Degli is one of the other former LFA champs on the card. He won on Contender Series with a submission in September. However, he’s more well known for his striking, along with his role as Carlos Prates’ sparring partner. He’s 15-3, but hasn’t lost since 2022.

Raposo has been served up as a sacrificial lamb here. But, I think his wrestling has a chance to keep him out of trouble. That’s probably why the odds are closer than I thought they would be.

Raposo’s problem has been fight IQ lately, though. He uses his wrestling to wall-and-stall and convinces himself that this is enough to win a fight. He also thinks he’s a better striker than he is. He was knocked down by Nascimento and landed twenty fewer significant strikes in that split decision win.

Degli is one of many hard-hitting Brazilians signed out of LFA. These guys have been pretty hit and miss in UFC so far. Ryan Gandra looks like a contender, but Lerryan Douglas turned out to be a pretender. I think the jury is still out on Degli, but I also think his offense will create enough big moments to get through (or past) Raposo.

Best bet: Marcos Degli moneyline (-225)

Jose Delano (-105) vs. Murtazali Magomedov (-115)

Former LFA champ Delano won his Contender Series fight last year and debuted with a decision over Robert Ruchala in April. He’s on a five fight winning streak right now. His last loss was to the very good Gabriel Santos.

Magomedov twisted Melsik Baghdasaryan for an unconventional submission win in June (see it here). He earned a bonus for that one. That was his first fight since punching his ticket to UFC with a first round KO on Contender Series. He’s 11-0.

This could be a great fight. Delano has nice striking, but he didn’t really show his best stuff in that debut. He’s got a quirky style and, once he gets comfortable in UFC, I think he might be a pretty good fighter.

Magomedov looks more ready for the moment and his game is really interesting. We’ve seen some big prospects from this area go bust recently (the matchmaking in that part of the world might deserve some auditing), but Magomedov feels particularly skilled and exciting.

I think this fight could be a wash on the feet, so that makes me lean Magomedov — since he has the grappling advantage to fall back on.

Best bet: Murtazali Magomedov moneyline (-115)

Keiichiro Nakamura (-360) vs. Ollie Schmid (+285)

Nakamura won the latest Road to UFC Featherweight tournament in January. He did that by finishing Sebastian Szalay with a knee (see it here) in a fight he was losing. He’s 8-1, but has spent his career on pretty small shows.

Schmid made his debut as a short notice opponent for Marwan Rahiki. That didn’t go very well for him. He was stopped inside the first round (see it here). That was in May. He’s just 4-3 as a pro with a couple of looks on HEX and Eternal MMA down in Australia.

This fight really doesn’t need to be in an Octagon and I doubt either of these guys get another contract after their initial deals are up.

Schmid looked way out of his depth against Rahiki. But Rahiki is far more dangerous than Nakamura. Even so, I can’t go against the odds here. Nakamura has wins in the Octagon. Schmid barely has wins in a few levels below UFC.

Best bet: Keiichiro Nakamura moneyline (-360)

Priscila Cachoeira (+380) vs. Nina Milosevic (-500)

Cachoeira has lost five of her last six. And four of those are by stoppages. Most recently she was submitted by Chelsea Chandler. She hurt Chandler in that short fight, though she also got hurt herself. Before that she lost to Klaudia Sygula.

Milosevic debuted, with a bang, at UFC Serbia. She bullied Hailey Cowan and put her down with a body shot (see it here). She’s 9-1 as a pro, with her sole loss being her pro debut in 2023.

Milosevic looked like the real deal in that debut. However, she was fighting the very hittable (and not very durable) Cowan. Cachoeira is also really hittable, though (7.35 sig. strikes absorbed per minute). Cachoeira can crack back, though (unlike Cowan). So Milosevic will need to be a little careful. Even so, I’m expecting her to style on Cachoeira and score another finish.

Best bet: Under 1.5 rounds (-110)

Jonny Parsons (+180) vs. Jose Souza (-218)

Parsons won a split decision on Contender Series in 2021 and then beat-up Danny Roberts at a UFC London card in 2023 and then disappeared. In 2023, he had a bout with Uros Medic fall through. Last year, he had a fight with Yusaku Kinoshita cancell=ed. He’s now 35 with a 9-3 record.

Souza won a split decision over Ding Meng in his debut in May. That was a split decision because Souza seemed to be cruising too much, almost admiring his work instead of pushing on to secure a finish. He got that fight after having three other UFC match-ups fall through.

I’m not very sold on Souza, but with Parsons coming off a three year lay-off and giving up ten inches (!) of reach to Souza, I’ve got to go with the Brazilian.

Best bet: Jose Souza moneyline (-218)

UFC Vegas 124 Long Shots!

Here are a couple of long shots for Saturday night’s action …

Cortes-Acosta vs. Walker to go the Distance (+300)

Walker had a great first round knockout in his last fight, but before that he had an all-time stinker that went to a decision. Cortes-Acosta has gone the distance in his last two fights and has done that in half of his 14 UFC fights. He’s also got an iron chin. I think there’s a very good chance we have to endure five rounds of bad Heavyweight fighting on Saturday.

Elijah Smith to win by first round KO/TKO/DQ (+380)

I think we could see a retirement on Saturday. Grant has looked mostly good over the last little while, despite being 40. But, he’s mostly been able to fight guys who don’t strike with much power and don’t have A+ wrestling. Smith has both those things.

Billy Elekana by submission (+800)

Will this be our latest chapter in the “Year of the Upset?” Fernando looked great in his debut (against someone who has done nothing in UFC). He’s got great striking, but Elekana is tough and he knows how to get on someone’s back. I think there’s a chance he gets his third rear naked choke in a row here.

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