Johnny Walker could move one step closer to a UFC light heavyweight title opportunity in Abu Dhabi in a few months.
The Brazilian, who has trained with John Kavanagh in SBG Ireland for the past several years, will fight former UFC 205-pound challenger Magomed Ankalaev at UFC 294 on October 21, according to numerous reports online. The bout will likely shed a bit more light on a light heavyweight division currently without a champion after Jamahal Hill vacated his title after suffering a serious achilles injury a few weeks ago.
Hill’s vacating of the title came just months after the man he succeeded as champion, Jiri Prochazka, did the same after he injured his shoulder in a training incident.
Walker, 31, has won three straight at 205-pounds and was most recently seen scoring a unanimous decision win against Anthony Smith in North Carolina in May — a run which comes after he won just one of his previous five.
Ankalaev, meanwhile, will fight for the first time after a December draw with Jan Blachowicz for the vacant light heavyweight title — in a fight that Dana White was most certainly not a fan of.
If and when the fight is confirmed by UFC officials, it will join a card which is to be headlined by the lightweight title rematch between Islam Makhachev and Charles Oliveira as well as Khamzat Chimaev’s middleweight fight against Paulo Costa.
