Last night, Dana White took to social media to announce UFC Saudi Arabia on June 22nd. He announced a lot of big time fights on the card including the main event featuring Robert Whittaker and Khamzat Chimaev. Another matchup he announced was a matchup between top ten light heavyweights Johnny Walker (21-8) and Volkan Oezdemir (19-7).
Starting with the former title challenger Oezdemir, he will be looking for his second straight win. After defeating Paul Craig back in 2022 to snap a two-fight losing streak, Oezdemir then lost to Nikita Krylov by decision. Last September, he returned after nearly a year away and scored a decision win over Bogdan Guskov by first round submission.
It was a huge win for Oezdemir to get back on track. He was 15-1 as a professional when he fought Daniel Cormier for the UFC light heavyweight title. Starting with the Cormier fight, he’s gone just 4-6 in his last ten fights. However, he’s still incredibly dangerous and he’s going to look to prove that in June.
UFC Saudi Arabia
Johnny Walker has been such a roller coaster ride since making his debut with the UFC. After earning a contract on The Contender Series, he won his first three fights by first round knockout. However, after the third win, he injured his shoulder badly which kept him out for about eight months.
When he returned, he was finished by Corey Anderson and that took away a lot of his shine. Starting with the Anderson fight, Walker would go just 1-4 in his next five fights. It looked like he would never climb back up the light heavyweight rankings. However, he started fighting smarter and won three straight including a decision over former title challenger Anthony Smith.
That led him to UFC 294 in a potential title eliminator against Magomed Ankalaev. The fight ended in a No Contest after an illegal knee and they rematched in a main event back in January. Unfortunately for Walker, he was stopped in the second round. Now, he’ll look to regain his momentum and try to get back towards title contention.