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UFC 334 loses top middleweight prospect, Cesar Almeida steps in

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1 month ago

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UFC 334 loses top middleweight prospect, Cesar Almeida steps in

UFC 334 has lost undefeated middleweight Baisangur Susurkaev, but a replacement has already been found.

MMA Fighting's Damon Martin and Mike Heck confirmed with sources with knowledge of the change that Cesar Almeida (7-3) has agreed to step in for Susurkaev to face Donte Johnson (9-0) at the Nov. 14 event at Madison Square Garden in New York. Bout contracts are still to be officially signed.

Susurkaev and Johnson were originally set to meet in a battle of top prospects, with Susurkaev also sporting a perfect record at 12-0. The 25-year-old Susurkaev hit the ground running after earning a UFC contract on Dana White's Contender Series in 2025, winning by knockout or submission in his first three outings for the promotion. The reason for Susurkaev's withdrawal from UFC 334 is not known.

Johnson was also signed off of DWCS in 2025 and has seen similar success, scoring consecutive UFC wins over Eric McConico, Cody Brundage, and Sedriques Dumas. He now faces Almeida, an experienced kickboxer who has seen mixed results in the UFC. Following a spectacular first-round knockout over Abdul Razak Alhassan in his UFC debut, Almeida has lost back-to-back fights, most recently losing by KO to Damian Pinas at UFC 329.

See the updated UFC 334 lineup below.

Ciryl Gane vs. Josh Hokit

Kayla Harrison vs. Amanda Nunes

Caio Borralho vs. Yousri Belgaroui

Uros Medic vs. Kevin Holland

Bilal Hasan vs. Luis Gurule

Drew Dober vs. Chris Duncan

Stephen Thompson vs. Charles Radtke

Donte Johnson vs. Cesar Almeida

Jim Miller vs. Terrance McKinney

Bia Mesquita vs. Macy Chiasson

Adrian Yanez vs. Juan Diaz

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MMA

Johnny Walker wanted to take it slow at heavyweight, then UFC called

Published

16 hours ago

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November 8, 2026

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Johnny Walker wanted to take it slow at heavyweight, then UFC called
Johnny
Walker's heavyweight run is going faster than he planned.

Ultimate Fighting Championship welterweights Sean Brady
and Gabriel
Bonfim were originally scheduled to headline
UFC Vegas 124 on Nov. 7 at Meta Apex in Las Vegas. However,
Brady pulled out because of a severe staph infection and the
promotion didn't book a replacement to keep Bonfim on the card.
Walker then accepted the headlining matchup against Waldo
Cortes-Acosta on nine days' notice.

What a victory over Waldo Cortes-Acosta could mean for Johnny
Walker

Walker (23-10, 1 NC) made his heavyweight debut against Mick Parkin
in October, scoring a bonus-winning first-round knockout. The
former light heavyweight recently revealed he originally wanted to
take things slow in his new weight class.

“I was thinking to take small steps and go slow in the division,â€
Walker said at media day ahead of UFC Vegas 124. “See how I feel at
heavyweight. That was my plan. God had different plans than me. God
has better plans for me.â€

Cortes-Acosta (17-4) was riding a three-fight win streak before
losing to Alexander
Volkov and Curtis
Blaydes this year. A win over “Salsa Boy†will launch Walker
into the heavyweight Top 10 in just his second appearance in the
division.

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MMA

Ilia Topuria goes in on Paddy Pimblett, open to coaching against him on The Ultimate Fighter

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17 hours ago

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November 8, 2026

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Ilia Topuria goes in on Paddy Pimblett, open to coaching against him on The Ultimate Fighter

Ilia Topuria and Paddy Pimblett might finally be ready to fight each other.

For years, Topuria and Pimblett have been embroiled in a heated rivalry, but the two have yet to settle things in the cage. After Topuria won the lightweight title last year, Pimblett even entered the cage to set up a showdown between the two. Ultimately, that never materialized as Topuria took time off for personal reasons and Pimblett lost an interim lightweight title fight with Justin Gaethje in January.

But after Topuria also lost to Gaethje in their title unification bout at UFC White House, the path is now clear for the two to settle their bad blood, and Topuria says there's even the possibility that their rivalry will headline the next season of The Ultimate Fighter.

“Paddy, Paddy, Paddy… I'll eat him up like the sausage he is!†Topuria told ABC.es. “There are no easy opponents. Paddy's a guy to be reckoned with, but come on, with that head of his, you just aim the punch that way and hit him.

“I've heard some rumors [about The Ultimate Fighter], but I haven't had any conversations with the UFC. I don't know what their interests are. When we resume talks with them, we'll see if we're on the same page. There are still good times ahead, but what matters most to me is getting back to training, feeling healthy and well, and then we'll be ready for whatever comes up.â€

While there's still no official word on whether or not the UFC is interested in Topuria and Pimblett coaching opposite each other on The Ultimate Fighter, Pimblett has also called for it, suggesting the two could “bring the ratings back†to the program. Also, unsurprisingly, Pimblett thinks he would get the better of Topuria, both on the show and in the cage, which Topuria disputes.

â€If you listen to him, he'll say, ‘He beats me at everything,' but I beat him at anything I want,†Topuria said. “After a loss, it's hard to talk about these things, but Paddy, on the ground, just grappling, doesn't win a single point against me. He doesn't take me down, he doesn't pass my guard, he doesn't do anything. I don't see him as being any better than me on the ground. He's a pushover, he's got a sausage body, he thinks his size gives him an advantage, but he can't do anything.

“He's not like Justin. Justin is a dog; he knows how to dodge punches, he's very experienced, and he's very freestyle. He does things that, to me, are poorly executed, but they're effective. Paddy has nothing, no knockout punch, no unexpected takedowns, no submissions out of nowhere. Paddy is very predictable; you can see his intentions.â€

And if the Pimblett fight does materialize and Topuria looks as impressive as he thinks he will, then “El Matador†believes that even the welterweight title fight with Islam Makhachev that he lost when Gaethje upset him could be back on the table.

“Everything can make sense again, of course,†Topuria said. “Yeah, it's going out there for my next fight, knocking out Paddy, and everyone's going to be like, ‘WOW, look how focused Ilia is!' You're only as good as your last fight.â€

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MMA

UFC Vegas 124: 'Cortes-Acosta vs. Walker' Live Results and Highlights

Published

1 day ago

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November 7, 2026

By

UFC Vegas 124: 'Cortes-Acosta vs. Walker' Live Results and Highlights
Trending:

Dricus du Plessis' move to light heavyweight teased by next potential opponent

The Octagon remains at the Apex for tonight's UFC Vegas 124 event, a 14-bout fight card headlined by Waldo Cortes-Acosta vs. Johnny Walker.

Cortes-Acosta (17-4 MMA) will enter this evening's main event with hopes of snapping a two-fight losing skid. ‘Salsa Boy' is coming off unanimous decision losses to Curtis Blaydes and Alexander Volkov in his most recent Octagon appearances. Prior to those setbacks, Waldo had strung together three straight stoppage wins, including a second-round TKO victory over Derrick Lewis.

Meanwhile, Johnny Walker (23-10 MMA) made his return to heavyweight last month and scored first-round knockout victory over Mick Parkin. The 34-year-old Brazilian has gone 2-3 over his past five fights overall.

UFC Vegas 124 is co-headlined by a women's strawweight bout between perennial division contenders Tatiana Suarez and Virna Jandiroba.

Suarez (12-1 MMA) will enter the contest on a two-fight winning streak, this after scoring victories over Amanda Lemos and Loopy Godinez in her most recent Octagon appearances. Prior to those triumphs, Tatiana had suffered her first career loss at the hands of Weili Zhang in a bout for the women's strawweight title.

Meanwhile, Virna Jandiroba (23-4 MMA) most previously competed this past April, where she scored a unanimous decision victory over Tabatha Ricci. Prior to that, ‘Carcará' dropped a decision to Mackenzie Dern in a fight for the promotion's then vacant strawweight title at UFC 321.

Get all of tonight's live results and highlights below (refresh for updates):

UFC Vegas 124 Main Card (8pm EST on Paramount+)

265 lbs: Waldo Cortes-Acosta vs. Johnny Walker – Walker def. Cortes-Acosta via TKO at 2:27 of Round 3

115 lbs: Tatiana Suarez vs. Virna Jandiroba – Suarez def. Jandiroba by unanimous decision (30-27 x2, 29-28)

135 lbs: Davey Grant vs. Elijah Smith – Smith def. Grant via KO (punches) at 1:00 of Round 1

205 lbs: Billy Elekana vs. Lucas Fernando – Fernando def. Elekana by unanimous decision (29-28 x3)

135 lbs: Priscila Cachoeira vs. Nina Milosevic – Milosevic def. Cachoeira via TKO (elbows and punches) at 3:40 of Round 2

125 lbs: Mitch Raposo vs. Marcos Degli – Raposo def. Degli by unanimous decision (29-28 x3)

UFC Vegas 124 Prelims (5pm EST on Paramount+)

145 lbs: Ollie Schmid vs. Keiichiro Nakamura – Schmid def. Nakamura by unanimous decision (29-28 x3)

265 lbs: Thomas Petersen vs. Gabriel Lorenco – Peterson def. via TKO (punches) at 4:47 of Round 3

125 lbs: Karine Silva vs. Gabriella Fernandes – Silva def. Fernandes by unanimous decision (29-28 x3)

145 lbs: Murtazali Magomedov vs. Jose Delano – Magomedov def. Delano by unanimous decision (29-28 x3)

145 lbs: Austin Bashi vs. Carlos Calderon – Bashi def. Calderon via submission (rear naked choke) at 1:07 of Round 1

185 lbs: Andre Petroski vs. Mantas Kondratavicius – Petroski def. Kondratavicius via TKO (ground and pound) at 4:39 of Round 2

170 lbs: Seokhyeon Ko vs. Wellington Turman – Ko def. Turman by unanimous decision (30-27 x3)

170 lbs: Jose Souza vs. Jonny Parsons – Souza def. Parsons via KO (punches) at 4:16 of Round 2

Who are you picking to emerge victorious in tonight's heavyweight main event between Waldo Cortes-Acosta and Johnny Walker? Share your predictions in the comment section Penn Nation!

This article appeared first on BJPENN.COM

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