Valter Walker continues to be impressed in the UFC heavyweight division, bringing his third straight heel hook finish by tapping out Kennedyne Zechukw in under a minute at UFC Nashville. A $50,000 bonus wins cash and with three quickstops, Walker refuses to let the hype get him in control of his future.
Instead of calling out the next top-ranked opponent, it would make sense given how shallow the UFC heavyweight class is at the moment, but Walker is looking for time to build confidence and experience.
“I’m very happy because I won, I got a bonus and a new contract, but I was dissatisfied with despair,” Walker told MMA Fighting. “I thought I was more calm. I threw a jab and the moment he grabbed his gloves, it surprised me. I thought he would walk behind me. I started chasing him, and it was a serious mistake.
“If he was more experienced and someone ranked in the top 10, he would have knocked me out, that’s definitely a mistake I want to go back to the gym. I have a lot of wrestling. Why it happened, it’s a lack of experience, I was stuffed, I should avoid it, I’m stuffed.
Walker could return to action as early as September, possibly compete for the UFC Paris Card or the following month at the Fight Night Show in Rio de Janeiro. He wants to face “very tough” undefeated prospect Mario Pinto, not a top-ranked opponent.
“I know the top 10 people are on a completely different level,” Walker said. “Like I said before, I don’t want to be there now. I haven’t said this many times. I don’t want to be ranked now. I’m not ready. I’m not ready.
The UFC may not give that treatment given today’s heavyweight class star shortage, and instead book him against someone ranked between 11 and 15. Walker believes that if he is treated with patience, he can have a bright future, and it all depends on how the UFC sees him.
“If they want me to be a heavyweight star, they’ll have the patience,” Walker said. “Now they’re going to rank and winning one fight, losing four and cutting, and no one knows who I am, they throw me out there. That’s their choice. I can’t do anything. UFC better versions of me, I can become a star if they have patience.”
Walker cites Tarson Teisheira and his own brother, Johnnie Walker, as examples. Teixeira was 1-0 in the UFC and knocked Justin Tafa out for 35 seconds in February. Lewis, the record owner of most knockouts in the company’s history, happened to have completed Teisheira in 35 seconds. Balter’s brother Johnny made a meteoric rise in the UFC with a trio knockout before losing to Corey Anderson, and today holds a 7-6 record in a single contest for promotion.
“It was very sad that (Teisheira) lost,” Walker said. “I believed he would pass Derrick, I told him that, and then what? “You’re 25 years old, you’re in the top 8. Who’s going to compete in the top 8? There’s just bad there, you’re 25 years old. And he didn’t go through Derrick.
“Or will heal Derrick and beat him? Yes, we never know. But you have to step into the ground and fight reality. The clever person knows his limits.
“I’m going to say something I’ve never said before,” he continued. “My brother went to the UFC and had three knockouts and everyone was like, ‘He’s going to take down John Jones.’ The brothers met his life. And another coach said, “No, he beat Corey Anderson, fight John Jones, and become the champion. They felt honestly when he said.
Walker said he plans to wear a cowboy hat and two rubber feet around his neck to look at the finish of the heel hooks, and that he plans to have them for face off and strike before his wife calls him. She disagreed with the idea by saying that if he loses a fight it was time for him not to joke because he is the person who “suffers consequences.”
“It’s normal to start growing up and become famous and make money and have that ego,” Walker said. “You start to think you’re the best. You can’t change with the people around you. They set limits so you need to hear people. Everyone is flawed, but you need flaws that are acceptable.
“I don’t know if you’ve heard this story or not, but I think it was in Greece. I think the warrior king walks around slaves who mutter, “You’re just a man.” The king will win the war, be treated as a god, and then they will think they are invincible, but will always have a slave that will remind them that “You are just a man.” That’s especially important for UFC athletes.