Johnny Walker Continues to Raise Eyebrows in And Out of the Octagon

Since Johnny Walker arrived in the UFC, the Brazilian light-heavyweight has consistently dropped jaws by quickly wrecking opponents in the Octagon. But, while Walker has been sidelined due to a shoulder injury, the Brazilian fighter’s shown he’s not short on promotional gifts either.

Walker made his way to the UFC last year, via Dana White’s Contender Series, and has lived up to the hype and then some. In Walker’s official UFC debut, he needed less than a minute to take out Khalil Rountree, and since then, the 27-year-old’s taken out Misha Cirkunov and Justin Ledet in under 60 seconds, total.

Well, due to these performances, and because of Walker’s size (he’s 6’5 tall), talk about how he’d do against Jon Jones has already been making the rounds. Walker, meanwhile, hasn’t exactly been reserved, when discussing the possibility of him facing the 205 champ.

Case in point, while talking to MMA Fighting recently, Walker had this to say about Jones and his split decision win over Thiago Santos at UFC 239.

“I think he can do much better than that,” Walker said. “He definitely has to do more against me, otherwise I’ll knock him out in the first round.”

“I think ‘Marreta’ was a great challenge. But ‘Marreta’ got hurt in the first round. Jones is the champion and would obviously win if it went to the scorecards, so I think he took his foot off the gas and the fight went the way you saw.”

“I thought about jumping in there and challenging him…” Walker said with a laugh.

How about that huh? Statements like this are certainly in keeping with the modern era of MMA, and what garners attention. But, Walker’s headline-worthy comments didn’t end there. Here’s what Walker had to say about the ridiculously powerful, Francis Ngannou.

“I’d like to impress the fans by beating Francis Ngannou. He’s a machine,” Walker said. “He impressed so many people with his punching power, the way he finishes his fights. People is scared to fight him. I’m not scared to fight him. We have the same punching power. I did the test at the UFC Performance Institute. I was coming off a surgery and almost did the same number he did, so I have the same power or even more. I can definitely defeat him.”

Yup. A lot of fans would likely love to see that match-up. All that aside, it will be interesting to see who Walker faces in his next bout. As it stands right now, Walker is ranked #12 in the UFC’s light-heavyweight division.