On March 2nd, 2019, the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas was an eyewitness to, by far, one of the most highly-spoken about events in the UFC’s calendar year. With championship matchups featuring in both the co-main and main event arrangements, UFC fans around the world gathered in large numbers with great anticipation. Amidst the stacked fight card, going into UFC 235 and looking to make a mark in the light heavyweight division, was Brazilian mixed martial artist, Johnny Walker.
Johnny Walker made his debut with the UFC against Khalil Rountree Jr. on November 17th, 2018, at UFC Fight Night 140. Following a promising performance at Dana White’s Tuesday Night Contender Series, Walker seemed ready to take on the top ten contenders from the 205-pound roster. After defeating Justin Ledet at UFC 144, a contest against Misha Cirkunov slated for UFC 235 was next in line for the towering 6 foot 6 inch Brazilian.
Coming into this fight as an already heavy favorite, Walker seemed to long to make his impression on ESPN’s preliminary card. On commencement and just 36-seconds into the first round, a flying knee from Walker caught Cirkunov off-guard, sending him into oblivion. The Brazilian then followed the attack with a barrage of punches before securing a win and being pronounced the victor of the bout.
Soon after the fight, Walker indulged himself in an extreme form of celebration, injuring himself in the process by attempting ‘the worm.’ News about Walker’s injury was quick to surface the internet before rumors were brushed off recently on Twitter by MMA journalist, Ariel Helwani.
Johnny Walker just got his MRI results back. Per his manager, he has a mild shoulder injury. He’ll need four weeks of rehab. They’re shooting for a return in May or June and are interested in fighting Alexander Gustafsson in Stockholm, his manager said.
— Ariel Helwani (@arielhelwani) March 5, 2019
Coming off of an unfortunate loss against Jon Jones during their highly-sought after rematch at UFC 232, Gustafsson will look to once again be back to winning ways. A super-fight against Johnny Walker may be just the perfect ingredient for the UFC’s up and coming pay-per-view events, this year.