Johnny Walker pulled off an surprising upset win to spoil Zhang Mingyang’s homecoming within the UFC Shanghai most important occasion on Saturday.
After consuming some arduous pictures on the toes and on the bottom within the opening spherical, Walker turned the tables after he linked with back-to-back calf kicks that had Zhang limping earlier than crumbling to the canvas. From there, Walker adopted him to the bottom the place he unloaded a barrage of punches and elbows with Zhang finally fading from the harm completed.
Referee Marc Goddard lastly noticed sufficient after Zhang rolled to his facet and simply coated up with Walker persevering with to rain down blows upon him. The official stoppage got here at 2:37 within the second spherical with Walker selecting up his first since a call over Anthony Smith in 2023.
“Coaching is coaching, battle is battle,” Walker mentioned after working alongside Zhang prior to now. “My kick is superior, proper? Now could be the definition of the title battle run. I need to see the legendary Polish energy [Jan Blachowicz].”
Because the fighters had been about to the touch gloves, Walker dove for a takedown however Zhang instantly reversed him, touchdown on high as they hit the bottom. Zhang stayed busy with Walker enjoying protection however finally the sunshine heavyweights labored again as much as the toes once more.
With Walker backing up and circling away, Zhang cracked him with a giant left hand adopted by a proper behind it and the Brazilian was rattled momentarily. That led to Walker grabbing for the clinch as he recovered and he finally broke free however not earlier than hitting Zhang with a stiff shot of his personal.
Walker tried one other takedown however Zhang stuffed him after which got here excessive with an enormous elbow strike that landed clear.
The assault continued from Zhang after he snapped off one other good boxing mixture however Walker countered with a nasty calf kick. Zhang was clearly affected by the kick as he stumbled backwards so Walker unleashed one other one which reverberated all through the world.
The thudding kick linked and Zhang winced in ache as he fell to the bottom.
Walker wasted no time following up, bludgeoning Zhang with punches and elbows and the extremely touted prospect from China simply couldn’t climate the storm. It was a disappointing consequence for Zhang however an incredible victory from Walker as he returns to the win column after back-to-back losses.
Whereas it’s powerful to say for sure if Walker has a title run in him as indicated, he positively shocked the world on Saturday in a battle that just about appeared like a star-making alternative for Zhang. As an alternative, Walker bought the job completed and he stays to a continuing risk to ranked contenders within the gentle heavyweight division.
