Tag Archives: Johnny Walker

Rafael dos Anjos’ Fight Against Rafael Fiziev Moved to UFC 272 in March

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Rafael dos Anjos’ return is being postponed slightly…

The 37-year-old Brazilian professional mixed martial artist and former UFC lightweight champion will now face off against Rafael Fiziev in the lightweight co-main event of UFC 272 on March 5 in Las Vegas, according to ESPN.

Rafael dos Anjosdos Anjos was initially scheduled to take on Fiziev for the UFC Fight Night headliner on February 19 in Las Vegas.

Fiziev reportedly had a visa delay, leading to the change. dos Anjos vs. Fiziev will remain a five-round fight, per sources.

The new UFC Fight Night main event on February 19 will be a five-round light heavyweight bout between Johnny Walker and Jamahal Hill, sources said.

Walker vs. Hill was initially scheduled as the UFC Fight Night co-main event.

dos Anjos (30-13) has not fought since a split-decision win over Paul Felder in November 2020.

The Brazilian-born fighter, who lives in California, moved back to lightweight for that bout after three years at welterweight. dos Anjos had dropped four of five fights against top 170-pound fighters before moving back down to 155, where he was the UFC champ in 2015 and 2016.

Fiziev (11-1) has won five in a row after dropping his UFC debut in 2019. The Kazakhstan-born fighter of Kyrgyzstani descent has won two of his last three fights via knockout, the most recent a third-round spinning wheel kick finish of Brad Riddell in December. Fiziev, 28, is considered one of the top young strikers in MMA.

UFC 272 will be headlined by a welterweight grudge match between former interim welterweight champion Colby Covington and Jorge Masvidal, owner of the mythical BMF title.

Thiago Santos In Final Talks to Face Magomed Ankalaev in UFC Fight Night Next March

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Thiago Santos could be returning to The Octagon in March…

The UFC is finalizing a light heavyweight fight between the 37-year-old mixed martial artist and Magomed Ankalaev to headline an event in March, according to ESPN.

Thiago Santos

The 205-pound contest will serve as the main event of a UFC Fight Night on March 12. The UFC has not announced a location yet for the event.

A former title challenger, Santos (22-9) is coming off a decision win over Johnny Walker in October. The Brazilian fighter challenged former champion Jon Jones for the title in July 2019 and suffered a serious knee injury in a decision loss. He dropped his next two bouts coming off knee surgery before rebounding in October.

Ankalaev (16-1) is one of the fastest-rising contenders in the division. The 29-year-old Russian is on a seven-fight win streak, including a decision over former title challenger Volkan Oezdemir at UFC 267 two weeks ago.

Thiago Santos Outlasts Johnny Walker to Win by Unanimous Decision at UFC Fight Night

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Thiago Santos is celebrating another victory…

The 37-year-old Brazilian mixed martial artist edged Johnny Walker via unanimous decision (48-47, 48-47, 48-47) in the main event of UFC Fight Night on Saturday in Las Vegas.

Thiago Santos

The fight featured two of the most explosive knockout artists in the UFC light heavyweight division, but it never got out of first gear.

A big overhand left from Santos in the fifth round likely sealed the victory in the close contest.

Santos to win by decision was +650, according to the Caesars Sportsbook. Neither man landed more than 11 significant strikes in a single round.

“I tried to do my best,” Santos said in his post-fight news conference. “I tried to knock him out, but it’s hard to get close to him. He’s big, but he moves fast.”

ESPN has Santos ranked No. 10 in the world at light heavyweight and Walker was trying to ascend the ladder. Both men were born in Brazil, but live and train elsewhere.

Santos competes out of Florida’s American Top Team and Walker trains at Dublin’s SBG Ireland, the home gym of Conor McGregor.

Santos said in his post-fight interview on ESPN+ that he next would like to face top Czech Republic light heavyweight Jiri Prochazka.

Walker held a 4-inch height and 6-inch reach advantage, so it made it hard for the smaller Santos to get inside where he’s so effective with his hard hooks. But Walker also wasn’t very active offensively. The best techniques of the fight were Santos’ kicks to the legs and body of Walker.

Walker had a solid first round with leg kicks, keeping Santos at bay. Santos landed some hard kicks to the body and legs of Walker in the second round. In the third, Santos had his best head shot to that point, a left that wobbled Walker off a Walker kick. Walker got back some momentum in the fourth round with some kicks and a right hand, his best punch of the night.

Santos, though, cemented the win in the fifth. He landed two hard left hands and big body kick. Walker didn’t show much urgency down the stretch and the bout went to a decision.

Santos (22-9) came in tied for the second most KO/TKOs in UFC history with 11. “Marreta” snapped a three-fight losing streak with the victory. One of those losses came against then-champion Jon Jones in a 2019 UFC light heavyweight title fight in which Santos blew out both of his knees. Santos earned his first win Saturday since that surgery. He was coming off a unanimous decision loss to Aleksandar Rakic at UFC 259 in March.

“I come from a tough injury on my knees,” he said in his postfight interview. “It’s so tough to recover. … I was sure this fight I was going to do 100% better than my last fights. And I did. I’m going up, not down.”

Walker (18-6) was coming off a huge first-round knockout over Ryan Spann in September 2020. This was only the third time he’s been to a decision in his pro career. He has won all four of his UFC bouts via finish. Walker, 29, was considered an outstanding prospect before back-to-back losses to Corey Anderson and Nikita Krylov in 2019 and 2020. Now, he has lost three of his past four.