How Johnny Walker Plans to Become UFC's Next 'Champ-Champ'

Johnny Walker's road to two-division UFC glory leads through Magomed Ankalaev, and the popular Brazilian finisher has no intention of altering his course.

"I'm feeling amazing," Walker said ahead of his fight with the Russian, which headlines this Saturday's UFC Fight Night 234 card in Las Vegas. "I'm ready to rock."

Walker and Ankalaev, the UFC's No. 3 and No. 7-ranked light heavyweights, will be meeting for a second time at this weekend's event, which will take place at the promotion's Apex facility.

The pair's first encounter occurred on the main card of UFC 294 in October. It got off to a fast start but ended in disaster just as quickly, after Walker "faked" being hurt by a body shot, leaped into the air in hopes of landing a flying knee, only to be taken down and blasted with an illegal knee to the head.

While the Brazilian believed he was fit to continue at the time, the cage-side physician disagreed, leaving the referee with no choice but to wave off the fight and declare a no-contest.

In hindsight, Walker admits the doctor made the right call, likening Ankalaev's illegal knee to a "car crash."

"We train so hard for that moment," he recounted. "It's hard, but sometimes it is what it is."

"The doctor made the smart decision for me, because I'm never gonna make the smart decision," he added. "I was gonna go keep fighting."

Walker admits that Ankalaev was in a "good, strong position" before their first fight ended, but he still believes he would have found a way to beat the Russian if it weren't for the foul.

He is eager for the opportunity to "solve the problem" this Saturday.

Despite being listed as a +255 betting underdog as of Wednesday evening, Walker is confident he will "shock the world." The key, he believes, is "improvising."

So far, his improvisations in the Octagon have yielded great results.

Heading into his rematch with Ankalaev, he sports a 21-7 pro record, with 19 finishes among his victories, and 16 of those coming by way of knockout. He is also on a three-fight unbeaten streak, and if he scores a fourth win against Ankalaev, he will be one of the top contenders in the division.

In that event, he can probably expect a fight with another Top Five contender like Jiri Prochazka, Aleksandar Rakic, or recent champion Jamahal Hill, to whom he suffered a knockout loss in 2022.

"100 percent I'm going to face these guys," he said. "All of these guys are going to be in my way one day. It's going to happen because there's no other way. The greatest will match up with each other."

"There's no easy work anymore. The Top Five is all hard work, and I love hard work 'cause I work hard every day."

Walker's primary goal, of course, is the UFC light heavyweight throne, which would represent his first belt in the promotion and is occupied by his fellow Brazilian Alex Pereira.

Prior to joining the UFC, Pereira reigned as a two-division champion in the Glory kickboxing ring. He has used that experience to become one of the most fearsome knockout threats in MMA today, but Walker believes he has a good shot at defeating his countryman, even if their potential fight unfolds on the feet.

"I'm big, and powerful too," he said. "Whoever lands first is gonna have a good night."

Whether it means fighting Pereira or somebody else, Walker is confident he can be a UFC champion by the end of 2024 and believes he has "everything that it takes to be a great champion."

However, the popular Brazilian will not be satisfied with a single UFC title.

Towering over most other light heavyweights at 6'6", he believes heavyweight is his "natural" weight class and suspects he will be competing there in the not-too-distant future.

"My future is going to be heavyweight," he said. "I have size, I have power, so 100 percent, in a few years, I'm going to end up at heavyweight."

This is not the first time Walker has expressed interest in moving up to heavyweight. The Brazilian also teased a weight-class change early last year, soon after former light heavyweight champion Jon Jones submitted Ciryl Gane to claim the vacant heavyweight belt and become a two-division champion himself.

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Walker would still love the opportunity to fight Jones, who is widely considered the greatest fighter in MMA history, but recognizes that the American's career is nearing its conclusion, and will not be disappointed if he misses the opportunity.

"We are different generations of fighters," he said of Jones. "He was the champion for so long; he did great already. If this fight doesn't happen, I don't really care. I'm happy for him."

"If I have the opportunity to fight him one day, I'm blessed, if not, I'm glad as well for his career."

With two titles in his sights, there is no questioning Walker's ambition, but it's possible that all of his goals hinge on the outcome of his looming rematch with Ankalaev.

Whatever the future holds, the Brazilian will have the support of an ever growing fanbase, and he intends to give his supporters what they tuned in for this Saturday.

"In the beginning [of my UFC career] people criticized a little bit," he said. "They think I'm playing too much, I joke too much, but this is me. People accept who I am, and they know it is what it is. I'm doing what I love, and people recognize that this is John Walker."

"I'm gonna have a little bit more Johnny Walker [this Saturday]."