Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) recently revealed its second quarter schedule for 2019 (see it here), which includes the UFC on ESPN+ 10 mixed martial arts (MMA) event on June 1 in Stockholm, Sweden.
That’s a good spot for the return of former light heavyweight title contender, Alexander Gustafsson, because “The Mauler” is from Stockholm and no doubt itching to rebound from his Jon Jones loss back in December.
To the delight of UFC matchmakers, it sounds like we already have our first volunteer when it comes to prospective opponents. That’s according to a report from ESPN, which has Johnny Walker, 26, expressing interest in a potential Gustafsson fight.
That would be a sizable boost in competition for the 17-3 Brazilian, who jumped out to a perfect 3-0 start inside the Octagon after a strong showing on Dana White’s Tuesday Night Contender Series.
I’m not sure Walker, who is ranked No. 12 at 205 pounds after laying waste to Misha Cirkunov at UFC 235 last weekend in Las Vegas, will be able to leapfrog some of the other ranked names, like Corey Anderson or perhaps even the winner of this fight.
UFC would also run the risk of wasting a new and exciting prospect too early in his career, instead of slowly building him up like it did with not-babied Israel Adesanya in the crowded middleweight division.
Time will tell.