The UFC has finalized a really fun matchup in the light heavyweight division for an upcoming fight night in May. MMA Junkie was the first to report yesterday that ranked light heavyweight contenders will battle it out as 10th ranked Johnny Walker (21-9, 1 NC) will take on the undefeated 12th ranked Azamat Murzakanov (14-0).
This fight will go down on May 17th. There’s been word that this fight night will take place in Qatar. However, there’s been recent rumblings that this event will be shifted to the APEX in Las Vegas. Nothing is confirmed at this point but we do know that this fight will go down on May 17th.
Starting with Murzakanov, the last time we saw him was back in August when he stopped Alonzo Menifield in the second round. It was Murzakanov’s fourth win inside the octagon. He’s hoping that with a win over Johnny Walker, he’ll only be looking at top ten opponents moving forward on his way to a potential UFC title shot.
UFC Fight Night
It’s been a wild ride for Johnny Walker inside the octagon. After winning a contract on The Contender Series, Walker came into the UFC like a bat out of hell winning his first three fights by first round knockout which included a win over eventual title challenger Khalil Rountree. However, after his third win, he injured his shoulder celebrating the win.
Since then, he’s never been able to regain the form he once had. Walker went just 1-4 in his five fights after the injury. He did turn things around at the end of 2022 and 2023 winning three in a row. However, since then, he’s gone 0-2, 1 NC getting stopped in both of his losses. He needs a win badly and he’s hoping he can bounce back against the unbeaten Murzakanov in May.