Johnny Walker is a real player in the heavyweight division.
Although he said he didn't want a quick rise in the heavyweight division after moving up from light heavyweight, he found himself in a main event against a top 10 opponent, Waldo Cortes Acosta, in just his second fight. Walker (24-10 MMA, 10-7 UFC) not only proved he could compete, but he could also stop someone like Cortes Acosta (17-5 MMA, 10-5 UFC). At 2:27 of Round 3, Walker was being pulled off by the referee for a TKO win.
Walker came out firing a trio of rapid leg kicks, setting the tone immediately. Cortes Acosta applied heavy forward pressure, forcing Walker to stay light on his feet as he circled around the octagon while offering leg kicks. It didn't take long for Cortes Acosta to catch
Walker and send him to the canvas with a punch. Walker popped up quickly though, and slowed things down for a moment in the clinch. After the separation, they steadily ramped up striking exchanges, leading to a chaotic slugfest until the horn.
The action resumed at a steady pace to start Round 2. Back-and-forth exchanges saw Cortes Acosta landing punches while Walker utilized kicks to the legs and body. Midway through the round, Walker started showing signs of fatigue, which Cortes Acosta quickly capitalized. A clean shot landed, and Walker stumbled to the canvas. Cortes Acosta quickly took top position to add ground and pound.
Cortes Acosta landed a clean right to start Round 3. Just when it looked like Walker might be in trouble, he flipped the script seemingly out of nowhere. Walker landed a question mark kick, followed by a backfist, which put Cortes Acosta on wobbly legs. Walker noticed his opponent was hurt, and blasted forward with a vicious right hand to send Cortes Acosta to the mat for the finish.
During his post-fight interview, Walker admitted he wanted to prove he could take a good punch at heavyweight, responding to critics about his chin. He then said he plans to travel to New York to watch the heavyweight title fight between Ciryl Gane and Josh Hokit at UFC 334 next weekend. Whether or not Walker ends up as the next title challenger, or if he has just positioned himself for a No. 1 contender fight, remains to be seen – although either would be a big leap.
Walker has won both of his fights in the heavyweight division by stoppage from strikes. At UFC 332, he finished Mick Parkin in the first round with a vicious knee knockout.
Cortes Acosta has now lost three straight, including decisions to Alexander Volkov and Curtis Blaydes. His last win was a second-round stoppage of Derrick Lewis at UFC 324.
Up-to-the-minute UFC Fight Night 293 results:
- Johnny Walker def. Waldo Cortes Acosta via TKO (strikes) - Round 3, 2:27
- Tatiana Suarez def. Virna Jandiroba via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 29-28)
- Elijah Smith def. Davey Grant via knockout (punches) – Round 1, 1:00
- Lucas Fernando def. Billy Elekana via unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28)
- Nina Milosevic def. Priscila Cachoeira via TKO (strikes) – Round 2, 3:40
- Mitch Raposo def. Marcos Degli via unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28)
- Ollie Schmid def. Keiichiro Nakamura via unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28)
- Thomas Petersen def. Gabriel Lorenco via TKO (punches) – Round 3, 4:47
- Karine Silva def. Gabriella Fernandes via unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28)
- Murtazali Magomedov def. Jose Delano via unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28)
- Austin Bashi def. Carlos Calderon via submission (rear-naked choke) – Round 1, 1:07
- Andre Petroski def. Mantas Kondratavicius via TKO (strikes) – Round 2, 4:39
- Seokhyeon Ko def. Wellington Turman via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27)
- Jose Souza def. Jonny Parsons via knockout (punches) – Round 1, 4:16
This article originally appeared on MMA Junkie: UFC Vegas 124 results: Johnny Walker stuns with TKO of Waldo Cortes Acosta
