Johnny Walker was proud of his finish Saturday in Shanghai, but there’s room for improvement and he’s figured out why.
In the UFC Fight Night 257 headliner, Walker (22-9 MMA, 8-6 UFC) battered Zhang Mingyang (19-7 MMA, 3-1 UFC) in the final sequence for a TKO stoppage at 2:37 of Round 2. The first round was a slightly different story, however, with Zhang getting the better of Walker.
“I feel very good,” Walker said during an interview on the ESPN+ post-fight show. “I just need a little bit more time to use my full game. It’s a long time with no fights. One year, no? I got just a little bit shy and not very trusting. That’s why I hug him when I put him down. My takedown was not very effective. Long time, no fight. I lost a little bit of timing with everything.
“… When the second round started to wind me up a little better. I started to move a little bit better. I started to feel the fight OK. I said, ‘OK, now it’s time to go moving forward.’ He took good shots on me, and I took my time to recover. I took three or five seconds to recover from the shots. Good, clean shots. I have a chin, motherf*ckers. This is the job. I love it.”
As for what’s next, Walker called out Jan Blachowicz in the cage but then pivoted away from that callout in the same interview. Backstage he said he’s leaving it up to UFC matchmaker Mick Maynard.
“I have no idea,” Walker said. “I was really focused on this Chinese guy. I don’t even look in the rankings. I don’t care how it’s going to happen. Whatever the matchmakers do, I accept.”
With the victory, Walker snaps a three-fight winless streak (two losses and one no contest). The victory was his first since he beat Anthony Smith by unanimous decision in May 2023.
