UFC Fight Night 293 post-event facts: Waldo Cortes Acostas career takes nosedive
UFC Fight Night 293 will not rank among 2026's best events, but Saturday's card from Meta APEX in Las Vegas did provide a few notable moments.
Johnny Walker (24-10 MMA, 10-7 UFC) delivered in a short-notice main event when he knocked out Waldo Cortes Acosta (17-5 MMA, 10-5 UFC) in the third round to stay unbeaten in his short tenure since moving up to the heavyweight division.
For more on the numbers to come out of the headliner, as well as the rest of the card, check below for MMA Junkie's UFC Fight Night 293 post-event facts.
Event stats
The UFC Promotional Guidelines Compliance payout for the event totaled $181,500.
Debuting fighters went 0-3 at the event.
Walker, Cortes Acosta, Elijah Smith and Thomas Petersen earned $100,000 UFC Fight Night 293 fight-night bonuses. Four fighters earned $25,000 finish bonuses.
The UFC sold VIP tickets to fans for UFC Fight Night 293, but the promotion did not make public the total number of tickets sold or the gate.
Betting favorites went 9-4 on the card.
Betting favorites fell to 22-13 in UFC headliners this year. Four main events in 2026 closed with even odds.
Total fight time for the 14-bout card was 2:36:56.
Johnny Walker def. Waldo Cortes Acosta
Walker improved to 2-0 since he moved up to the heavyweight division in October 2026.
Walker has earned 22 of his 24 career victories by stoppage.
Cortes Acosta's three-fight losing skid is the longest of his career. He hasn't earned a victory since January 2026.
Cortes Acosta suffered the first stoppage loss of his career with a knockout defeat.
Tatiana Suarez def. Virna Jandiroba
Tatiana Suarez (13-1 MMA, 10-1 UFC) failed to complete a takedown for the first time in her UFC career.
Virna Jandiroba (23-5 MMA, 9-5 UFC) has suffered all five of her career losses by decision.
Elijah Smith def. Davey Grant
Elijah Smith's (11-1 MMA, 4-0 UFC) four-fight UFC winning streak at bantamweight is tied for the third-longest active streak in the division behind Raul Rosas Jr. (six) and Petr Yan (five).
Smith has earned eight of his 11 career victories by stoppage.
Davey Grant (17-9 MMA, 9-8 UFC) has suffered six of his nine career losses by stoppage.
Grant suffered the first knockout loss of his career.
Nina Milosevic def. Priscila Cachoeira
Nina Milosevic (10-1 MMA, 2-0 UFC) has earned both of her UFC victories by knockout.
Priscila Cachoeira's (13-10 MMA, 5-10 UFC) four-fight losing skid is the longest of her career. She hasn't earned a victory since March 2025.
Cachoeira fell to 1-6 in her past seven fights dating back to July 2023.
Cachoeira fell to 5-10 in her past 15 fights after starting her career 8-0.
Mitch Raposo def. Marcos Degli
Mitch Raposo (12-3 MMA, 3-2 UFC) has earned all three of his UFC victories by decision.
Marcos Degli (15-4 MMA, 0-1 UFC) has suffered three of his four career losses by decision.
Thomas Petersen def. Gabriel Lorenco
Thomas Petersen (12-4 MMA, 4-4 UFC) has earned nine of his 12 career victories by stoppage.
Gabriel Lorenco (8-2 MMA, 0-1 UFC) has suffered both of his career losses by knockout.
Karine Silva def. Gabriella Fernandes
Gabriella Fernandes (11-5 MMA, 3-4 UFC) has suffered four of her five career losses by decision.
Murtazali Magomedov def. Jose Delano
Murtazali Magomedov (12-0 MMA, 2-0 UFC) earned the first decision victory of his career.
Austin Bashi def. Carlos Calderon
Austin Bashi (152 MMA, 2-2 UFC) has earned both of his UFC victories by submission.
Carlos Calderon (11-5 MMA, 0-1 UFC) has suffered three of his five career losses by stoppage.
Calderon has suffered all three of his career stoppage losses by submission.
Andre Petroski def. Mantas Kondratavicius
Andre Petroski (14-6 MMA, 9-5 UFC) snapped his three-fight losing skid for his first victory since February 2025.
Petroski has earned nine of his 14 career victories by stoppage.
Mantas Kondratavicius (9-2 MMA, 1-1 UFC) has suffered both of his career losses by stoppage.
Kondratavicius suffered the first knockout loss of his career.
Seokhyeon Ko def. Wellington Turman
Seokhyeon Ko (14-3 MMA, 3-1 UFC) has earned all three of his UFC victories by decision.
Wellington Turman's (18-9 MMA, 3-7 UFC) four-fight losing skid is the longest of his career. He hasn't earned a victory since February 2022.
Turman fell to 0-3 since he dropped to the UFC welterweight division in June 2023.
urman has suffered six of his nine career losses by decision.
Jose Souza def. Jonny Parsons
Jose Souza (10-1 MMA, 2-0 UFC) has earned seven of his 10 career victories by stoppage. He's finished all of those wins by knockout.
Jonny Parsons (8-4 MMA, 1-1 UFC) has suffered three of his four career losses by stoppage. He's been knocked out in all of those defeats.
UFC research analyst and live statistics producer Michael Carroll contributed to this story. Follow him on X @MJCflipdascript.
This article originally appeared on MMA Junkie: UFC Fight Night 293 post-event facts: Waldo Cortes Acosta's career takes nosedive