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Johnny Walker stops Waldo Cortes-Acosta in the third round to close UFC Vegas 124
Johnny Walker stopped Waldo Cortes-Acosta at 2:27 of the third round in the UFC Vegas 124 main event for his second straight heavyweight knockout.
Johnny Walker took the UFC Vegas 124 main event on short notice. He left Las Vegas with another heavyweight highlight.
Walker stopped Waldo Cortes-Acosta by TKO at 2:27 of the third round on Saturday night at Meta APEX. The finish was Walker's second straight knockout since he moved up from light heavyweight.
Walker improved to 24-10 with one no-contest. Cortes-Acosta fell to 17-5.
A slow start then a sudden ending
Walker chopped at Cortes-Acosta's lead leg through the first two rounds while the Dominican heavyweight pressed forward and threw heavy right hands. Cortes-Acosta appeared in control after the second round and landed on top during a scramble.
In the third Walker went high with a question-mark kick that caught Cortes-Acosta in the head then followed with a back fist and a right hand that dropped him. Walker pounced with follow-up punches until referee Jason Herzog waved it off.
A statement at heavyweight
Walker took the bout on five days' notice after the original main event fell through. The win was his second as a heavyweight and pushed him into the top-10 conversation in the division.
"Without a heavy guy like this who could take a punch it wouldn't be a good fight," Walker said afterward. "Who don't have a chin now? This was just to prove to everyone."
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