Johnny Walker defeats Waldo Cortes Acosta by TKO at UFC Vegas 124

Johnny Walker earned a technical knockout over top-10 heavyweight Waldo Cortes Acosta at UFC Fight Night 293 in Las Vegas. The bout, Walker's second at heavyweight after moving up from light heavyweight, ended at 2:27 of the third round when the referee intervened.

Walker began the fight with a series of leg kicks, while Cortes Acosta applied forward pressure and landed a punch that briefly sent Walker to the canvas. The two exchanged strikes throughout the first two rounds, with both fighters scoring hits to the body and legs. Midway through the second round, Walker showed signs of fatigue and was knocked down, allowing Cortes Acosta to take a brief ground-and-pound position.

In the third round, Cortes Acosta landed a clean right hand, but Walker responded with a question-mark kick followed by a back-hand strike that staggered his opponent. Walker then delivered a right hand that forced the referee to stop the contest.

After the fight, Walker said he wanted to demonstrate his ability to absorb heavyweight punches and mentioned plans to attend the upcoming heavyweight title bout between Ciryl Gane and Josh Hokit at UFC 334 in New York. Walker has won both of his heavyweight outings by stoppage, including a first-round knockout of Mick Parkin at UFC 332. Cortes Acosta suffered his third consecutive loss, having previously fallen to Alexander Volkov and Curtis Blaydes, with his last victory a second-round stoppage of Derrick Lewis at UFC 324.