Stephen R. Sylvanie-USA TODAY Sports
Light heavyweight contender Johnny Walker is looking to get back on track tomorrow night (Sat., Mar. 14, 2020) at UFC Fight Night 170 live on ESPN+ from inside Nilson Nelson Gymnasium in Brasilia, Brazil, when he takes on divisional finisher Nikita Krylov on the main card.
Walker, 27, rose to stardom from 2018-2019 after winning his first three Octagon appearances by way of first-round knockout. The popular Brazilian fighter was already setting his sights on Jon Jones’ light heavyweight title before an unexpected knockout loss to Corey Anderson in late-2019 derailed his plans.
Now, with a fresh slate to start 2020, Walker is looking to regain the momentum he relinquished just five months ago.
“You have no idea how badly I want to fight,” Walker told BJPenn.com. “I’m really excited. I want to beat somebody. I want to test myself. I don’t want to hurt somebody, but I want to knock somebody out.”
As one of the most exciting fighters on the UFC roster today Walker is capable of setting the stage on fire. Despite UFC Brasilia being hosted behind closed doors due to the coronavirus outbreak the young contender is still hoping to cash in on a good matchup against a proven veteran.
“I really like this match. I really think he’s a really good match for me to come back because he’s a pretty good fighter. He has a good stand up game, a good ground game. He has a little bit of wrestling, he has a little bit of cardio” Walker said. “So he’s a complete fighter. So this is going to be a really good test for me. Beating this guy is going to tell me I’m ready for the next level.”
If Walker is able to take out Krylov, who is coming off a close split-decision loss to Glover Teixeira back in September, it could propel him back into contention in a weight class looking for new blood. Krylov isn’t the most difficult matchup for Walker at 205 pounds, but it’s a tough test that could bring the evolving Brazilian closer to a title shot here in 2020.
“I’m going to work for that. I’m going to fight as much as I can and train as hard as I can. If I have the opportunity to fight for the title shot at the end of the year or the beginning of the next year, I want to work for this,” Walker concluded.