Neither Magomed Ankalaev nor Johnny Walker is happy about how their UFC 294 clash ended in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates this past weekend (Oct. 21, 2023).
Weird things happened in the Octagon during UFC’s return to “Fight Island.” Fighters lied about staph infections, a doctor told Victor Henry he was faking his nut shot, and then Ankalaev and Walker nearly fought through security after their fight was over. Unfortunately, the Light Heavyweight tilt resulted in a no-contest after an illegal knee to a downed Walker stopped the action, leading to a confused Walker not knowing where he was and post-fight chaos ensuing.
There’s no word on whether or not the match up will be run back yet, but the bad blood between the two continued to boil today (Thurs., Oct. 26, 2023).
“I was ready for a fight with a warrior, but he turned out to be a clown,” Ankalaev said in an Instagram post.
“Am I a clown [clown emoji]?” Walker asked in response with his own post. “Or you a cheater that like to take advantage and play dirty @ankalaev_magomed ? You should be DQ ! You saw that you had lost your strong position and I was getting up and you shit yourself and decide to play dirty .you have 20 professional fights and still don’t know the rules ?”
Ankalaev, in particular, has had a rough stretch of luck between this fight and his prior against Jan Blachowicz in December 2022. At UFC 282, the Russian fought for vacant 205-pound gold, performing well and rallying late after being dealt some nasty leg kicks from Poland’s finest. In the end, the judges scored the bout a split draw, leaving the title vacant with both men out of the immediate title picture.
Walker, on the other hand, was on a resurgent three-fight winning streak before UFC 294, defeating Anthony Smith, Paul Craig, and Ion Cutelaba.
For complete UFC 294 results, coverage and highlights click HERE.