Johnny Walker is back in the win column after scoring a unique knockout
The long-time light heavyweight contender fought Zhang Mingyang in the UFC Shanghai main event on Saturday.
After a tough first frame, Johnny Walker turned things around by landing two nasty kicks on his opponent’s calf.
Zhang Mingyang dropped to the floor and tried to survive, but after a relentless follow-up attack, referee Marc Goddard waved the fight off at the midway point of round two.
Johnny Walker stops Zhang Mingyang
Johnny Walker shot for an ill-advised takedown at the very start of the first round.
Zhang Mingyang easily countered it before spending the next couple of minutes in top position.
The Brazilian fan favorite spent most of the first five minutes switching between his obvious wrestling-heavy game plan and initiating wild exchanges to try to score a knockout.
But he ended up getting cracked and hurt by several nasty shots from Zhang Mingyang.
Walker looked like he might suffer a third successive KO loss as he continued to eat big shots in round two.
However, everything changed when he landed back-to-back leg kicks to drop his pained rival.
A huge barrage of punches followed, and Walker got his first win since beating Anthony Smith in May 2023.
Johnny Walker’s losing streak
Johnny Walker’s three-fight winning run was snapped at the very start of 2024.
Future light heavyweight champion Magomed Ankalaev knocked him out during his rise up the 205lb ranks.
The Brazilian tried to bounce back when he fought perennial contender Volkan Oezdemir a few months later.
Unfortunately for Walker, he was brutally knocked out in the first round of his June 2024 clash with the heavy-handed fighter from Switzerland.
14 months later, Walker is back in the win column after an impressive performance at UFC Shanghai.
