Johnnie Walker elicited an unexpected and upset victory to ruin Zhang Mingyang’s homecoming at the main event of UFC Shanghai on Saturday.
After eating a hard shot on the feet and ground in the opening round, Walker turned the table after connecting to a back-to-back calf kick that Chan limped before collapsed onto the canvas. From there, Walker chases him and follows him to the ground, dropping a punch and a barrage of elbows, eventually disappearing from the damage Zhang has been made.
Judge Mark Goddard finally saw enough after Chan rolled over to his side and Walker was covered with rain on him. The official suspension came at 2:37 in the second round, when Walker came to pick him up for his first time since the decision over Anthony Smith in 2023.
“Training is training, and battle is fighting,” Walker said after working with Chan in the past. “My kicks are amazing, right? Is that the definition of title fight run now? I want to see the legendary Polish power (Yambracowicz).”
Walker had a pigeon for a takedown as the fighter was about to touch the gloves, but Chan quickly turned him around and landed on top when he hit the ground. Zhang was busy with Walker Playing Defense, but in the end the light heavyweights returned to his feet.
Walker retreated and circumcised, and Chang cracked him with his big left hand, then followed right behind, and the Brazilian temporarily rattled. It led to grabbing the clinch when he recovered, and he eventually broke freely, but not before hitting Chan with his own hard shot.
Walker attempted another takedown, but Chang stuffed him and then came to the top with a massive elbow strike that landed neatly.
The attack continued from Zhang after he dropped out of another good boxing combination, but Walker fought back with a nasty calf kick. Chan was clearly affected by the kick as he stumbled backwards, so Walker unleashed another thing that echoed throughout the arena.
The Thdding Kick connected, and Zhang felt pain as he fell to the ground.
Walker bl-hits Chang with punches and elbows, bl-hitting a highly promoted outlook from China, failing to survive the storm. It was a disappointing result for Chang, but it was a tremendous victory from Walker when he returned to his victory column after a string of losses.
It’s hard to say for certain whether Walker is running the title to him as shown, but he definitely shocked the world with a fight that seemed like a star-making opportunity for Zhang on Saturday. Instead, Walker has his job done and he is under constant threat to candidates ranked in the light heavyweight division.