Kavanagh and Walker ‘kicked out’ of arena after UFC 279, White responds

Coach John Kavanagh claims he and Johnny Walker were “kicked out” of the arena after their UFC 279 fight, which Dana White later clarified.

Light heavyweight contender Johnny Walker had a spectacular night at UFC 279. The 30-year-old Brazilian broke a two-fight skid with a first-round submission win over Ion Cutelaba to open up the main card.

But his night took a slightly unpleasant turn, at least according to his coach John Kavanagh, who posted these tweets claiming they were forced out of the arena.

“So @ufc just came and kicked us out. No tickets for us and not allowed stay back stage to watch. Pulled out back door, kicked out, no even shoes on,” Kavanagh wrote.

UFC president Dana White was later asked about it during the post-fight presser and denied kicking out Walker and his team.

“I guess ever since COVID, they started this thing where they get the fighters right out of here. I don’t know why that happened or what happened.

“We’re not gonna throw Johnny Walker out in the street, shoeless, I’m sure.”

With the victory over Cutelaba, Walker now improves to a record of 19-7. He also won a $50K bonus for Performance of the Night, his fourth overall since entering the organization in 2018.