Walter Walker outlines the ideal strategy for Johnny to overcome his rival at UFC Shanghai: 'If we're going to trade blows...'

Johnny (left) and Walter Walker are brothers. Photo: Reproduction/Instagram @valterwalkerufc

PUBLICITY:

protagonist of UFC Shanghai which takes place in the early hours of this Saturday (23), Johnny Walker prepares for a crucial fight in his career. Scheduled to face Mingyang Zhang, the Brazilian is seen as a big underdog, despite having great confidence from his brother Walter Walker, to be successful and break a negative sequence in the organization.

Present in China to follow Johnny's final preparations, Valter made no secret of his expectations and what he's been training with his brother to accomplish in the fight. Aware of the light heavyweight's ability to take fights down, the Rio native implores that takedowns be used immediately after the gloves touch.

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"Just touch the glove and dive on the 'chinoca's' leg, please. We've been training this for two weeks, two weeks I've been training with my brother. Touch the glove, dive on the leg. Take the Chinese guy down, elbow him, the Chinese guy will take two elbows to the face, he'll turn his back. Johnny will just have to get his back and finish. We've been training this a lot. Now I'm telling you: if he goes in there and exchanges blows and gets knocked out, I don't know what I have to do, my brother. I don't know what I have to do," Valter declared during an interview with 'Canal Encarada'.

J. Walker submitted I. Cutelaba in the UFC 279. Photo: Reproduction/Instagram @ufc_brasil

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Knocked out in his last two appearances, Johnny is looking for the opportunity to return to the top after having already been named as one of the athletes he can defeat Jon Jones, at the time the American reigned in the division. His only submission victory in the UFC came in 2022, when he applied a rear naked choke to Ion cutelaba.

On the other hand, Zhang is riding high on three consecutive knockouts in the UFC, all in the first round. In 25 career fights, the athlete has only made it past the first five minutes twice. His last setback was in 2019, when he was submitted by Brazilian Luan Aguirre Elias at WLF WARS 39.