Sean Brady out of UFC Vegas 124; Walker vs. Cortes-Acosta reportedly new main event

Sean Brady is out of his welterweight main event against Gabriel Bonfim at UFC Vegas 124 on Saturday, Nov. 7, in Las Vegas. Brazilian journalist Laerte Viana first reported the withdrawal on X on Thursday, and MMA Fighting confirmed it through sources less than half an hour later. Brady himself later said a staph infection was to blame.

Viana then reported on Thursday afternoon that the UFC couldn't find Bonfim a replacement in time. Heavyweights Johnny Walker and Waldo Cortes-Acosta would headline instead. That part isn't official. As of Thursday, the UFC's event page still listed Bonfim vs. Brady at the top of the card, and the UFC hadn't commented.

What Brady said

The first reports only mentioned an undisclosed injury. Brady gave the details on the SteadyPicks YouTube channel, according to The Big Lead. He said he trained normally on a Tuesday morning last week, then found his knee swollen after a bike session that evening.

"By 9:00 at night, I couldn't walk."

He said he has dealt with bursitis before, but "I knew this wasn't bursitis; I knew it was an infection." The Big Lead's report doesn't give a timeline for his return.

It isn't the first infection to cost him a fight. Brady pulled out of a July 2023 fight with Jack Della Maddalena at UFC 290 because of an infection in his elbow, BJPenn.com reported at the time. A foot infection also ended a planned 2021 fight with Kevin Lee, according to his Wikipedia page).

What the division loses

Brady (19-2) is ranked No. 5 at welterweight. He won his last fight, a unanimous decision over Joaquin Buckley at UFC 328 on May 9. He closed a +140 underdog, per our fighter page. Before that, he closed a -150 favourite against Michael Morales at UFC 322 and was stopped in the first round. In his UFC fights with closing odds he's 7-2, 1.6 wins more than the prices implied.

Bonfim (20-1), ranked No. 6, has won five straight, according to Wikipedia. The latest was a unanimous decision over former champion Belal Muhammad on June 6, the same man who stopped Brady in 2022. That fight closed near a pick'em at -105, and Bonfim is 7-1 in the UFC, per our page.

Islam Makhachev holds the title after a unanimous decision over Ian Machado Garry at UFC 330 on Aug. 15, theScore reported. He has no next defence officially booked. We think Bonfim loses the most. He's 29, just beat a former champion, and no new opponent or date has been reported.

The reported new main event

Walker (23-10, 1 NC) is ranked No. 12 at heavyweight. In his first UFC fight at heavyweight, at UFC 332 on Oct. 3, he knocked out Mick Parkin with a first-round knee. He'd be back after five weeks. SB Nation reports the fight would go five rounds, and that Walker asked for a fight on social media earlier this week. He closed -112 against Parkin and is 6-5 in UFC fights with closing odds, per our page.

Cortes-Acosta (17-4), from the Dominican Republic, has lost two straight decisions: to Alexander Volkov in May and Curtis Blaydes on Sept. 12. Before that, he knocked out Ante Delija, Shamil Gaziev and Derrick Lewis in a row, according to Wikipedia. All four of his MMA losses were decisions. Our page has a closing price for only one of his fights, so we don't have a useful betting record for him.

Our pages don't have odds for either fight yet: the matchup page still shows Bonfim vs. Brady unpriced, and Walker's and Cortes-Acosta's pages show no fight booked. Tatiana Suarez vs. Virna Jandiroba is still the co-main event. On the prelims, Thomas Petersen has reportedly replaced Alvin Hines against Gabriel Lorenco, according to MMA Knockout. Prelims start at 5 p.m. ET and the main card at 8 p.m. ET on Paramount+, per UFC.com.