UFC Vegas 84 blew the roof off UFC Apex last Saturday night (Jan. 13, 2024) in Las Vegas, Nevada, leaving several fighters feeling the post-fight blues. Among them was Gabriel Benitez, who was choked out by Jim Miller in the third and final round of their Lightweight bout (highlights).
And Phil Hawes, who was brutally knocked out by Brunno Ferreria in the opening round (see it again here). But which fighter is suffering from the worst post-fight hangover, now a few days removed from the show?
Johnny Walker.
Coming into his rematch against Magomed Ankalaev, Walker was hoping for a better outing after their first fight a few months ago resulted in a No Contest (NC). Walker was the recipient of an illegal knee that prompted some confusion and chaos in the cage, ultimately leading to the booking of the rematch.
Unfortunately for the towering Brazilian, things didn’t go too well for him in the do-over, either.
After a fairly-competitive first round, Ankalaev managed to clip Walker in round two which sent him crashing to the canvas. Before the big man even had the chance to get up, he was the recipient of a brutal punch that shattered his nose. All Walker could do was slump over in pain and wait for the referee to put an end to the fight.
While Ankalaev likely set himself up a for a 205-pound title shot against Alex Pereira, possibly at UFC 300 this April, Walker will once again have to go back to the drawing board and regroup.
It seems like it’s a common theme for the towering big man, coming up short in the biggest fights. It’s not that he doesn’t have impressive wins on his resume (he does), but when he has the chance to make a statement that puts him over the edge, he comes up just shy of reaching his goal.
Walker did previously say prior to the fight that moving up the 265-pound division was in his future, but I just don’t see this loss being the one that actually pushes him to do it for his next fight. Indeed, I see him sticking around the Light Heavyweight division a tad bit longer.
As far as who he could realistically face next, perhaps a showdown against Volkan Oezdemir makes sense. “No Time” is coming off a unanimous decision win over Bogdan Guskov — who was making his short-notice UFC debut in Sept. 2022 — bringing him to 2-3 in his last five fights, while Walker is 3-1-1. Furthermore, Oezdemir is ranked No. 8, while Walker is currently ranked No. 7.
Will a win get Walker back into the thick of the championship picture? Probably not. But it would still be a good confidence booster. Furthermore, he shouldn’t expect to be offered higher-ranked foes until he can get back in the win column.
For complete UFC Vegas 84 results, coverage, and highlights click HERE.