Nikita Krylov gave Johnny Walker his second UFC loss.
The Ukrainian light heavyweight used his wrestling and superior grappling to grind out a 30-27, 29-28, 29-28 unanimous decision Saturday at UFC on ESPN+ 28.
The light heavyweight bout was part of the main card at Ginasio Nilson Nelson in Brasilia, Brazil. It aired on ESPN and streamed on ESPN+.
The bout between Krylov (27-7 MMA, 8-5 UFC) and Walker (17-5 MMA, 3-2 UFC) promised to deliver a finish, but instead it went to the judges’ scorecards.
In every round, Krylov was able to take down and control the Brazilian with relative ease. Walker connected with some solid shots early in the first round and managed to achieve top position in a couple of instances during the fight.
However, Krylov’s time on top and in control was far greater than Walker’s, which made all the difference in their 205-pound contest. As the fight got deeper, it was clear the pace was wearing far more on Walker than Krylov.
With the result, Krylov managed to bounce back from his loss to Glover Teixeira back in September. The 28-year-old is 2-2 since rejoining the UFC in late 2018.
On the other hand, Walker dropped his second consecutive defeat in the octagon. His last win came against Misha Cirkunov in March 2019.
Up-to-the-minute UFC on ESPN+ 28 results include:
- Nikita Krylov def. Johnny Walker via unanimous decision (30-27, 29-28, 29-28)
- Francisco Trinaldo def. John Makdessi via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 29-28)
- Brandon Moreno def. Jussier Formiga via unanimous decision (30-27, 29-28, 29-28)
- Amanda Ribas def. Randa Markos via unanimous decision (30-26, 30-25, 30-25)
- Elizeu Zaleski dos Santos def. Aleksei Kunchenko via unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28)
- Rani Yahya vs. Enrique Barzola ruled a majority draw (28-29, 28-28, 28-28)
- Maryna Moroz def. Mayra Bueno Silva via unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28)
- David Dvorak def. Bruno Silva via unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28)
- Bea Malecki def. Veronica Macedo via unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28)
