The UFC has put together a replacement fight for Valter Walker following the heavyweight’s missed opportunity at UFC Rio.
Walker was set to fight Mohammed Usman on October 11th in Brazil, but Usman was pulled from the event in the days leading up to the event. The reason? A September drug sample that returned with elevated testosterone.
Walker is the half-brother of UFC light heavyweight Johnny Walker, while Usman is the brother of former welterweight champion Kamaru Usman. Once the “Battle of the Brothers”
fell apart, the UFC had nothing for Valter, who was left in an emotional state over the cost of his camp and the disappointment of his family and friends who traveled to Rio de Janeiro to see him fight.
The UFC has gone ahead now and booked a new fight for Walker just weeks away at UFC 321 on October 254th. The news comes via Laerte Viana, who was first to report on the Usman cancellation and drug test failure.
“Valter Walker will indeed be fighting in October!” Viana tweeted. “After having his bout at UFC Rio canceled, he faces the debuting Louie Sutherland on the same card as Tom Aspinall vs. Ciryl Gane. Who takes this one?”
Sutherland recently felt the sting of his own late fight cancellation: he was set to fight Justin Tafa in Perth on September 27th, but a disastrous weight cut sent Tafa to the hospital. The UFC would end up releasing Tafa after the botch, and now Sutherland will get a second debut booking against Walker.
That’s quite the step up in competition, though. Valker’s last three fights have all ended via first round heel hooks. He’s one of those guys that telegraphs exactly what they’re going to do, but no one can seem to stop them. Will Sutherland be able to? We’ll find out in a week and a half!
