Johnny Walker says he is going back to the drawing board in his pursuit of gold in the UFC’s light heavyweight division.
The Brazilian, who trains out of SBG Ireland in Dublin, was defeated in the second-round of his rematch with Magomed Ankalaev in Las Vegas last weekend in a bout which has re-established the Russian as a serious contender at 205-pounds. And in his first public comments since the loss, an upbeat Walker said his goals are unchanged despite the defeat, which he says illustrates the fine margins at the upper echelon of the sport.
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“It is what it is,” Walker said in a video message posted to Instagram. “We fight the best in the world, I’m one of the best in the world. I’m gonna face the best in the world. Could be me, could be him. He have a better night than me, congratulations to him, Magomed Ankalaev. Hope he get the belt now.”
Walker, who seemed to have staples on his from a blow sustained during the fight’s finishing sequence, said that he will learn from the defeat vy analysing the footage “to see what I did wrong.”
He added: “And I’m gonna keep grinding, keep going forward and keep going upward. Thank everybody for the support. I’m gonna take a few days off and come back to the gym, come back better.”
The loss was Walker’s first in five fights, and followed an undefeated run against Paul Craig, Anthony Smith and Ion Cutelaba, as well as the no-contest in his initial bout with Ankalaev last year.
