Johnny Walker pulled off an upset win at UFC Shanghai, but he feels his performance could’ve been even better.
Walker shared the Octagon with Zhang Mingyang this past Saturday. Mingyang was on a 12-fight winning streak entering his light heavyweight showdown with Walker. While many were expecting Mingyang to send the crowd home happy, the crafty Walker added another highlight reel finish to his resume.
It didn’t take long for Walker to charge at Mingyang. While the strategy was initially criticized by the UFC commentary team, Walker’s unpredictability eventually led to a second-round TKO finish. The Brazilian bruiser also earned an extra $50,000 for “Performance of the Night.”
Walker joined the ESPN+ post-fight show panel for an interview following his sensational victory. The 32-fight veteran feels rust may have played a role in some parts of the bout (via MMAJunkie).
“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.”
Walker made it a point during the interview to insist he isn’t too concerned about his next opponent. He said his focus was solely on Mingyang, and he will let the matchmakers decide his next opposition.