Johnny Walker was a big underdog going into his UFC Shanghai main event clash with rising prospect Zhang Mingyang, especially after losing his past two by knockout, but turned the table with a TKO of his own.
Walker tried to surprise Mingyang with a takedown seconds into the match but the Chinese star reversed the position and ended on top. Back to the feet, Walker showed a more conservative style — with some flashy moves here and there —, but the finish came after a well-timed calf kick in the second round, hurting Mingyang.
“I’m fighting top 10 for six, seven years, and I fight trained killers,” Walker said on the UFC post-fight show. “I’m a trained killer too, so he has to worry because as the guy can get hurt and knocked out and sleep, so do I. Everybody can get hurt in this game. The fight was very emotional for us because we know how hard we train. This is the hardest job in the world.”
With his brother Valter Walker in the corner in Shanghai, Johnny admitted he was “emotional” after his first three-fight winless run in the promotion. Training at Xtreme Couture in Las Vegas gave him confidence, but Walker felt he couldn’t perform at his best after a 14-month layoff.
“I feel very good. I just need a little bit more time to use my full game,” Walker said. “Long time no fight, one year, you know? I get just a little bit shy, not very trustworthy. That’s why I hugged him when I put him down. My takedown wasn’t very effective. Long time no fight, lost a little bit of timing for everything.
“On the second round, [I] started warming up a little bit better, start move better, start feel the fight, ‘OK, now it’s time to go a little bit forward.’ He take good shots on me and I take my time to recover. It took three, five seconds to recover from the shots. Good, clean shots. I have chin, motherf*ckers! And yeah, this is the job, I love it.”
Back in the win column for the first time since May 2023, when he beat Anthony Smith just months after finishes over Paul Craig and Ion Cutelaba, Walker said he has “no idea” who could be next.
“I was really focused on this Chinese guy,” said Walker, who now holds an 8-6 UFC record with one no contest, six of those wins coming by way of knockout. “I don’t even look at the ranking. I don’t care how the ranking is happening. Whatever the matchmakers do, I accept.”
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