Returning to home soil for the first time since a March 2020 loss to Ukraine native, Nikita Krylov, fan-favorite contender, Johnny Walker lands consecutive victory number two tonight, finishing Scottish grappler, Paul Craig with a series of first round ground strikes to open the main card of UFC 283 at the Jeunesse Arena in Rio […]
Returning to home soil for the first time since a March 2020 loss to Ukraine native, Nikita Krylov, fan-favorite contender, Johnny Walker lands consecutive victory number two tonight, finishing Scottish grappler, Paul Craig with a series of first round ground strikes to open the main card of UFC 283 at the Jeunesse Arena in Rio de Janeiro.
Walker, the current #12 ranked light heavyweight contender, managed to land his first submission victory in the UFC last time out back in September at UFC 279, submitting Ion Cutelaba with a first round rear-naked choke.
Battling Scottish Hit Squad grappling ace, Craig tonight in his native Brazil, Straight Blast Gym Ireland mainstay, Walker managed to capitalize as Craig attempted a high-crotch single leg takedown, rocking the submission specialist on the feet before forcing the fight to the ground momentarily at the fence, finishing with elbows and strikes.
Below, catch the highlights from Johnny Walker’s TKO win over Paul Craig
In a rare situation at UFC 305, two fighters that have siblings also on the roster, will come face-to-face in the featured prelim. Junior Tafa is looking for his second UFC win after being stopped earlier this year by Marcos Rogério de Lima at UFC 298. His older brother Justin is the more experienced of […]
Despite the difference in weight classes between them, the younger of the Tafa brothers hopes that he can run through a Walker family gauntlet in his coming fights.
Junior Tafa Says He’d Like To Fight Both Of The ‘Cool Cat’ Walker Brothers
During his media day interview ahead of his clash with Walker this weekend in Perth, Tafa gave his opinion on his opponent’s brother.
He said that he would be very keen on the idea of facing both of them during his UFC tenure which would be possible with his aspirations of competing at 205-pounds.
“Yeah preparation is good, watched a little bit of tape but yeah, I’d like to fight both of the Walker brothers if I could. I want to campaign down to light heavyweight and his brother would like to come after too.”
Tafa then clarified that he has no personal vendetta against this particular family or the fighters they produce and if anything, wants to fight them because he’s a fan of what they do.
“I’m a fan of their fighting style, they’re cool cats you know but, be cool to do both of them ay.”
Having spent time earlier in his career training in both Scotland and England, Johnny Walker eventually found his way to SBG Dublin in Ireland. Joining the gym in 2020 after facing some adversity following his rapid climb up the light heavyweight rankings, the Brazilian has spent the majority of his UFC tenure with this team. […]
Having spent time earlier in his career training in both Scotland and England, Johnny Walker eventually found his way to SBG Dublin in Ireland.
Joining the gym in 2020 after facing some adversity following his rapid climb up the light heavyweight rankings, the Brazilian has spent the majority of his UFC tenure with this team.
Here Walker would develop a great relationship with head coach John Kavanagh, who is most well known for being the main man in the corner of Conor McGregor.
However, following another patch of difficult results, it looks like the knockout artist is now looking to take himself out of his comfort zone once again.
Recent photos that were posted by “iamthebay” on Instagram show a training session at the American Kickboxing Academy, or AKA, in California.
Here, Walker can be seen getting some work in with the likes of Khabib and Usman Nurmagomedov, as well as the UFC lightweight champion, Islam Makhachev.
MMA Fans React To Johnny Walker Training Alongside Khabib Nurmagomedov After Years At SBG
Walker has always been a fighter that generates talking points both in and out of the cage and this has now extended to his training.
Though it’s far from uncommon to see fighters move between top gyms during their careers, you won’t see many that switch from McGregor’s home base to that of his arch rival’s.
Ahead of his Octagon walk later this month in hostile territory at UFC 283, light heavyweight contender, Paul Craig has predicted a rather surprising knockout win over Brazilian opposition, Johnny Walker – despite donning one of the more dangerous grappling games at the light heavyweight limit. Attempting to defend his spot in the official light […]
Ahead of his Octagon walk later this month in hostile territory at UFC 283, light heavyweight contender, Paul Craig has predicted a rather surprising knockout win over Brazilian opposition, Johnny Walker – despite donning one of the more dangerous grappling games at the light heavyweight limit.
Attempting to defend his spot in the official light heavyweight top-10 rankings, Craig, who currently boasts the #9 slot in the division, has yet to return to the Octagon since dropping a unanimous decision loss to one-time title challenger, Volkan Oezdemir at UFC London last July.
Snapping a three-fight losing skid back in September at UFC 279, Rio de Janeiro native, Walker managed to submit Ion Cutelaba with a dominant first round rear-naked choke submission win, landing his first submission victory during his tenure with the UFC.
Paul Craig envisions knockout win over striker, Johnny Walker at UFC 283
Tasked with toppling Scottish Hit Squad submission specialist, Craig on home soil at UFC 283, Walker has been touted as a makeshift wrestler by the former, who expects the Brazilian to leave an opening – resulting in a knockout win for himself as he attempts to secure a takedown.
“[It’s] one of these things, you’ll take it (a knockout) as quick as you can,” Paul Craig told James Lynch during an interview with Fanatics View. “Once (Johnny) Walker feels actually how strong I am, I think you might find that he’s gonna actually try and shoot (for a takedown).”
“I think when feels the power in my hands, and in my legs, he’s gonna be blown away actually – as most people are,” Paul Craig continued. “I went three rounds with (Magomed) Ankalaev, and that was the thing – he switched up his stance, with the power in my legs, the power in my kicks, the power in my hands. And I don’t think Johnny Walker is ready for what I’ve got.”
Seeing an impressive four-fight winning run halted in his clash against Oezdemir back in July of last year, Craig landed consecutives over Gadzhimurad Antigulov, Mauricio Rua, incoming vacant title challenger, Jamahal Hill, and former Fight Nights Global champion, Nikita Krylov.
Ahead of his Octagon walk later this month in hostile territory at UFC 283, light heavyweight contender, Paul Craig has predicted a rather surprising knockout win over Brazilian opposition, Johnny Walker – despite donning one of the more dangerous grappling games at the light heavyweight limit. Attempting to defend his spot in the official light […]
Ahead of his Octagon walk later this month in hostile territory at UFC 283, light heavyweight contender, Paul Craig has predicted a rather surprising knockout win over Brazilian opposition, Johnny Walker – despite donning one of the more dangerous grappling games at the light heavyweight limit.
Attempting to defend his spot in the official light heavyweight top-10 rankings, Craig, who currently boasts the #9 slot in the division, has yet to return to the Octagon since dropping a unanimous decision loss to one-time title challenger, Volkan Oezdemir at UFC London last July.
Snapping a three-fight losing skid back in September at UFC 279, Rio de Janeiro native, Walker managed to submit Ion Cutelaba with a dominant first round rear-naked choke submission win, landing his first submission victory during his tenure with the UFC.
Paul Craig envisions knockout win over striker, Johnny Walker at UFC 283
Tasked with toppling Scottish Hit Squad submission specialist, Craig on home soil at UFC 283, Walker has been touted as a makeshift wrestler by the former, who expects the Brazilian to leave an opening – resulting in a knockout win for himself as he attempts to secure a takedown.
“[It’s] one of these things, you’ll take it (a knockout) as quick as you can,” Paul Craig told James Lynch during an interview with Fanatics View. “Once (Johnny) Walker feels actually how strong I am, I think you might find that he’s gonna actually try and shoot (for a takedown).”
“I think when feels the power in my hands, and in my legs, he’s gonna be blown away actually – as most people are,” Paul Craig continued. “I went three rounds with (Magomed) Ankalaev, and that was the thing – he switched up his stance, with the power in my legs, the power in my kicks, the power in my hands. And I don’t think Johnny Walker is ready for what I’ve got.”
Seeing an impressive four-fight winning run halted in his clash against Oezdemir back in July of last year, Craig landed consecutives over Gadzhimurad Antigulov, Mauricio Rua, incoming vacant title challenger, Jamahal Hill, and former Fight Nights Global champion, Nikita Krylov.
Johnny Walker understands what former UFC light heavyweight champion Ji?í Procházka is going through with his abnormally high drug-testing rate. Since 2015, the United States Anti-Doping Program (USADA) has partnered with the UFC to ensure an even play…
Johnny Walker understands what former UFC light heavyweight champion Ji?í Procházka is going through with his abnormally high drug-testing rate. Since 2015, the United States Anti-Doping Program (USADA) has partnered with the UFC to ensure an even playing field for the mixed martial artists on the roster. Some of the more notable fighters who have…
Ahead of his Octagon walk later this month in hostile territory at UFC 283, light heavyweight contender, Paul Craig has predicted a rather surprising knockout win over Brazilian opposition, Johnny Walker – despite donning one of the more dangerous grappling games at the light heavyweight limit. Attempting to defend his spot in the official light […]