UFC Fight Night Vegas 124 predictions: Full card picks, best bets

Back-to-back APEX cards for the UFC as the promotion stays in Las Vegas.The UFC keeps coming at us with weekends of fight cards, and while this Saturday’s fight card isn’t exactly a barn-burner, it’s some fights to bet on.It’s going to be a long night on Saturday, with 14 fights on the docket at the APEX and an obscene 11 expected to end inside the distance as the promotion continues to hunt finishes.Many fights feature newcomers, so we’ll do our best to parse through this mixed-level MMA card, which begins at 2 p.m.ET. A fun heavyweight matchup this weekend as Johnny Walker steps in against Waldo Cortes Acosta. Walker has typically fought at light heavyweight, but he’s moving up to heavyweight for this fight after winning by knockout in his division debut against Mick Parkin.Both of these fighters are taking this bout on short notice as Walker fought on Oct.

3 and Cortes-Acosta fought on Sep.12. I hate this matchup for Walker as he’s had so many issues with taking strikes and durability in his UFC career at a lower weight class.Walker hits hard, but he’s been knocked out by four fighters in the UFC at lower weight classes.Cortes-Acosta has never been knocked out in his UFC career, and Walker is highly unlikely to win a five-round decision.There’s no way I’m backing Walker at an underdog price, and I’m all in on Cortes-Acosta to win by knockout.PREDICTION: Waldo Cortes Acosta wins by KO/TKO (-105, Fanatics Sportsbook) This is a very high-level fight for strawweight as both of these fighters have had title aspirations in their careers. Tatiana Suarez, 13-1, comes in as a solid favorite, while Virna Jandiroba, 23-4, has only lost to elite-level competition, with a recent loss to champion Mackenzie Dern. I’m a little surprised that Suarez is this big of a favorite (-220), as Jandiroba is a very solid striker while Suarez is an elite wrestler and grappler.I just have no idea what Suarez would even do if this fight plays out on the feet; w...