UFC Vegas 224 went down last Saturday night (No. 7, 2026) inside Meta Apex in Las Vegas, Nevada, leaving several fighters feeling the post-fight blues. Among them was Davey Grant, who was knocked out in one minute by Elijah Smith (see it again here).
And Priscila Cachoeira, who suffered her fourth straight defeat after getting stopped by Nina Milošević in round two of their bantamweight scrap (relive it here). But which fighter is suffering from the worst post-fight hangover, now a few days removed
from the show?
Waldo Cortes-Acosta.
Coming into the event, “Salsa Boy” was hoping to right his ship after dropping back-to-back unanimous decision defeats at the hands of Alexander Volkov and Curtis Blaydes, two formidable foes. Unfortunately for the hulking Dominican bruiser, his woes only got worse against Johnny Walker.
For the first two rounds, the big men engaged in what can only be described as a wacky brawl that didn’t exactly have textbook striking. But they did engage on the feet throughout, much to the enjoyment of fight fans. Walker was able to get some good strikes in, but Cortes-Acosta also delivered some decent blows.
In round three, however, the tides quickly turned in Walker’s favor after he landed a perfection question mark kick that rocked the big man. Smelling blood, Walker ran right at his foe and clipped him with a huge punch right on the jaw that floored him and proceeded to ground-and-pound him until the referee put an end to the carnage.
And just like that, “Salsa Boy” suffered his third straight loss, his first-ever via stoppage.
It’s a tough blow for Cortes-Acosta — who is currently ranked No. 8 — because his skid will likely take him out of the Top 10. It’s a big downfall for the man who kicked off his UFC career with a 7-1 record including big wins over the likes of Serghei Spivac, Derrick Lewis, Robelis Despaigne and Andrei Arlovski — who currently finds himself in a middle of a controversy — just to name a few.
He wasn’t exactly in the championship conversation, but this will definitely put him further down the ladder, which means he will have to dig deep to get out of the huge hole he currently finds himself in. And with new talent joing the heavyweight ranks it is going to be a long road back.
As far as what could be next for him, perhaps a fight against Marcin Tybura is in order. Like “Salsa Boy,” Tybura currently finds himself in the middle of a three-fight losing streak and in desperate need of a win to convince UFC matchmakers to keep him on the ever-crowded roster.
I wouldn’t go as far as to call it a loser-leaves town match, but both men would come into this with a ton of pressure to get a win, which could lead to some potential fireworks and a highlight-reel finish.
Thoughts?
For complete UFC Vegas 124 results, coverage, and highlights click HERE.
