Johnny Walker is looking to get back to his finishing ways.
Walker made a statement early in his UFC career by picking up three straight first-round knockouts over Khalil Rountree, Justin Ledet and Misha Cirkunov.
But Walker (17-4 MMA, 3-1 UFC) ran into a humbling experience last November at UFC 244 when he was stopped in the first round by Corey Anderson, putting a halt to his momentum. Now Walker will look to rebound against Nikita Krylov (25-7 MMA, 7-5 UFC) on Saturday at UFC on ESPN+ 28, looking to recreate some of his magical moments in the octagon.
“It’s a very important fight for me,” Walker told MMA Junkie. “My goal is to resume my journey towards the top of the division. I’m much more focused and prepared this time. Regardless of what Nikita Krylov brings on fight night, I’ll be ready for him. If he wants to bang it out, which is his preference, that’s fine. In the end, I see my hand raised.
“I don’t care if I have to knock him out or submit him to do it. It’s going to happen in the first round. My errors won’t be repeated. Each day is a new learning experience. I’ll use that knowledge in my future fights. I’m striving for perfection.”
Walker’s loss to Anderson was a wake-up call, and while Walker doesn’t want to make any excuses, he said he was carrying a little extra baggage going into the fight.
“That fight was a big learning experience for me,” Walker said. “My mistake was bringing personal problems into the octagon. It’s something I’ll never do again. There are some stresses during fight week – things that had been bothering me for months. I fought without any focus. I don’t want to take anything away from Corey Anderson, of course. He’s a great fighter. I’m confident I could have had a much better performance. I know I’ll keep climbing the rankings, so I expect we’ll run into each other again. Things will be very different.”
Walker made a major change ahead of his fight with Krylov, moving to the famed Tristar Gym in Montreal to working with coach Firas Zahabi and former UFC two-division champion Georges St-Pierre.
“We’ve been training with a lot of big guys with great wrestling,” Walker said. “My striking, jiu-jitsu and wrestling are all improved. I’m always looking to get better in all areas of martial arts. Anything I can already do, I want to be able to do even better. I’ll be very aggressive, and I’ll be inflicting a lot of damage. There will be no errors. My coaches are giving me a lot of attention. Plus, I have a coach helping me with the mental side.
“I want to keep climbing the rankings until I’m No. 1. I’m glad to be No. 11 in the (official UFC rankings). But I’m not about to stop. I’m going to make my country proud.”
Had he beaten Anderson, Walker could have found himself challenging UFC light heavyweight champ Jon Jones for the title. But despite the loss, the goal remains the same for the Brazilian.
And he’s willing to make the necessary changes to reach it.
“With another win, I might consider moving to Las Vegas, so I can have access to the UFC Performance Institute,” Walker said. “Everything I need is there. Plus, the cost of living isn’t too high. I will work very hard to hopefully get a title shot no later than next year. The entirety of my focus is on this. I know fighting careers are short. So I’m 100 percent dedicated and invested in becoming the best in the sport.”
