Josh Hokit didn’t seem all that impressed by Valter Walker’s fifth straight submission in the UFC, when he tapped out Thomas Petersen in under two minutes at UFC Abu Dhabi, and Walker was quick to respond on social media
. Walker, who called Hokit “small” prior to his recent bout, said he won’t engage more on a verbal back-and-forth with the undefeated heavyweight until he sees a clear path to an actual fight with him.“He’s on a higher ranking than I am right now. I’m one tier below him,” Walker
told MMA Fighting. “But if I win my next fight, and he loses his next one, we’re going to meet. There’s nowhere to run. That’s a fight I’d like to have, but I understand that, at the moment, he’s one tier above me. There’s not much I can do. I’m not going to force a fight that I know doesn’t make sense for the promotion. I know they won’t give it to me, and I know he won’t accept it. So, rather than building expectations among the fans for something that might not happen, I’m going to hold off and wait. When I take my shot, it’ll be the right shot at my next opponent.”
Walker stopped his previous five opponents in the opening round, a calf slicer finish over Peterson preceded by four heel hooks. Walker is aiming for a quick turnaround at UFC 333, scheduled for Oct. 24 in Abu Dhabi, or an unannounced UFC Qatar card in November.
“As for opponents, I don’t know yet,” Walker said. “Why? Because nobody has been offered to me, and we haven’t talked about money either.”
Walker, who turns 29 in December, told MMA Fighting this past week he hoped to re-negotiate his contract with the promotion with a win on July 25. That hasn’t happened yet, Walker said, but is expected now that he has one bout left in his current deal.
“I’m not going to go crazy and ask for a ranked opponent if I don’t even know what my purse is going to be,” Walker said. “If it’s a generous offer, great, give me a top-ranked guy. But if it’s just an average offer, then it has to be an average opponent, you know? I’ve built a name for myself. I’m a guy who delivers. I’m a guy who says what he’s going to do and then does it. If I say I’m going to take the foot, I grab the foot. I’m someone who interacts with the fans, takes pictures with everyone. I do my part for the company.
“It all depends on what’s being offered. It’s supply and demand. But regardless of what they offer me, I’ll accept. At the same time, now that I’ve made a name for myself in the sport, I can be a little selective and choose an opponent whose style favors mine so I can keep winning.”
As for his constant leg attacks in the octagon, Walker doesn’t plan on changing one bit for as long as it’s working.
“I’m going to keep doing what’s favorable for me until someone can stop my leg attacks, stop the different variations, and force me to show my striking,” Walker said. “If the guy can’t defend anything, can’t do anything, and I can win in 10 seconds, man, then I’m going to win in 10 seconds. Now, if he can defend everything, then credit to him, we’ll stand and trade and you’ll get to see what you’ve been asking for. That’s not my problem, that’s my opponent’s problem. You should be sending messages to him.”
