UFC Brasilia: Johnny Walker Denies Looking Past Corey Anderson, But Says he “Underperformed” in Quick Loss

Johnny Walker has established himself as one of the most charismatic fighters on the UFC roster. But, the light-heavyweight contender insists that didn’tplay a role in his crushing loss to Corey Anderson.

Walker reflects on the stoppage loss

Before Walker faced Anderson at UFC 244 in New York City, the consensus was that a big win could propel him into the title shot mix. After all, prior to the bout, Walker needed less than three minutes total to defeat Justin Ledet, Khali Rountree and Misha Cirkunov.

But, as noted above, Walker’s rise up the 205 ranks came to a crushing halt, as he was finished by Anderson in round one. Due to Walker’s charismatic persona, and his acrobatic approach, some questioned whether the Brazilian had taken Anderson lightly.

But, while speaking to MMA Junkie recently, Walker had this to say about the loss:

“I am not disappointed, but I disagree,” Walker said. “I take everything very seriously. I am light-hearted, but I am not a guy who plays in the fights. I took Corey very seriously, as I took all my other fights.”

“Corey definitely keeps improving; all merit goes to him. He is becoming better and better as time goes by. That being said, I definitely underperformed. I had a lot of stress in my camp and in the week of the fight due to personal issues. Thankfully, it is all gone now, and I am ready to go back into focusing fully on my next opponent.”

This is interesting to hear, and in terms of “stress” in his camp, Walker also announced that he’s going to train at the famed Tristar gym in Montreal. Walker is booked to fight Nikita Krylov on March 14th at UFC Brasilia.

Walker’s thoughts on Krylov

While talking about Krylov, and what he expects, Walker said this:

“I am happy with the matchup,” Walker said. “Krylov is an exciting guy who has some nice fanbase, but I am not a guy to complain about matchups. I want to fight as much as possible against anyone and everyone. Nikita is a tough guy. He has a great chin and loves to strike. I am sure he has the style that I love to fight against. It’s going to be very fun.”

Yup. On paper, this match-up does indeed have everything to be “fun” and should be on anyone’s must-see list. Krylov is also looking to back on track, as he’s coming off a split decision loss to perennial contender, Glover Teixeira in September.