RIO DE JANEIRO — Valter Walker was left heartbroken on Thursday when he received a call from the UFC informing him that Mohamed Usman would be absent from the UFC’s Oct. 11 bout in Rio. He now hopes to be back in the cage by October 25th, when UFC 321 lands in Abu Dhabi.
“In the first moment, I was very upset. I got emotional and started crying,” Walker told MMA Fighting. “But if I have faith, this could be for something bigger. …But I’m happy to have a fight in two weeks. (UFC matchmaker) Mick (Maynard) is like, there’s something about spending. Bringing my wife. And I spent a lot of money to get two coaches here. I’m going to get some help from the UFC and I’m going to fight in Abu Dhabi in two weeks. If this happens, I’ll be happy. We will fight in December.”
It’s still unclear what caused Usman to be taken off the card, and Walker said no reason was explained.
“We try not to talk about it too much because we have the same manager and I respect this guy’s brother,” Walker said. “I’m a little angry at him, but I respect his family name. You know, I respect Kamaru Usman because (he’s) a former champion. And I’m not going to get involved in any kind of conflict regarding Ali Abdelaziz and regarding his brother.”
The Brazilian heavyweight said he has been offered his name as an opponent for UFC 321 later this month, but is still waiting for the fight agreement to become official. Even if his contract is not completed in time, he hopes to return by the end of the year. Walker said he received compensation from the UFC despite the fight being called off, but he is still upset that the fight was called off because “I’m not here for the money and I’m not a whore.”
“We’re waiting on a contract, but we’re already looking to change all our plans,” Walker said. “I was planning to stay here for another week with my family, but the manager gave me a ticket back to Moscow on Monday. I’m ready to go back to training. In two weeks I’ll be ready. In a month I’ll be ready. I’ll be ready anytime. I won’t go to a training camp. I’m always in shape.”
Walker, who has won three straight in the UFC and scored all three finishes with heel hooks, took to social media to slam fellow heavyweights who offered to intervene when the Usman news broke, but is said to have changed his tune when the UFC offered him.
“It’s stressful,” Walker said. “I’m so angry because the fight got canceled. I’m not kidding, I came here to work. I came here to make money. I came here to make history. If you step into the cage and land the hook No. 4, you’re going to be in history. I’m not kidding, I’m here to make history. Here I am. I always joke on social media, but people always think I’m joking. No, brother, I’m trying to promote my game. Sometimes people don’t understand my name. I think everything that’s going on is a joke. If I’m going to talk about it, I have to.”