Athletes
Magomed Ankalaev Looks To Finish The Johnny Walker Part Of His Story
Russian Standout Squares Off With Johnny Walker In Rematch From UFC 294 To Close Out First Event Of 2024
Experience and familiarity in different situations is a key element in the growth and progression of a fighter over the course of their career, but in some instances, familiarity with particular situations isn’t always a plus.
For instance, Magomed Ankalaev has experience in immediate rematches after fights have been stopped prematurely in the first round.
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“My career has been full of challenges,” answered the reserved Russian when asked about the potential parallels or lessons he took from his 2020 series with Ion Cutelaba as he readies to run things back with Brazilian Johnny Walker in the main event of this weekend’s opening fight card of 2024.
The first fight with Cutelaba was halted early when the referee mistakenly read the Moldovan’s unsteadiness on his feet as him genuinely being rocked and ready to collapse. In actuality, “The Hulk” was trying to set a trap for Ankalaev, hoping to draw him in too confidently and then pounce, and the stoppage prompted him to drop the charade immediately and object.
They were re-booked multiple times throughout the year, finally sharing the Octagon again in October, where Ankalaev registered an indisputable first-round stoppage win to continue his ascent up the divisional ladder.
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While the circumstances around this weekend’s immediate rematch with Walker are different, the frustration from the first fight and excitement to be resolving things in a timely fashion remain the same.
“It was another challenge in my career,” he said of his UFC 294 encounter with the charismatic Brazilian. “I can’t wait to finish this story on January 13th and move on.”
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Early in the opening frame, Walker took a front kick to the midsection and doubled over at the waist, prompting Ankalaev to advance. As he did, the SBG Ireland representative elevated, looking to land a flying knee after playing possum, much like Cutelaba had hoped to do several years earlier.
Ankalaev was hip to the subterfuge, avoided the attack, and immediately secured a body lock on Walker, wrestling him to his knees along the fence, where he alternated between searching for chokes and landing sporadic shots to his opponent’s head. As they battled along the cage wall, Ankalaev connected with a knee to the chin of Walker, who was clearly downed, prompting the contest to be paused.
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Walker took the shot without issue, immediately motioning to Ankalaev that he was down and the blow was illegal. The ringside physician entered the Octagon and proceeded to ask Walker, a native Brazilian, a series of questions in English, and when his answers were unacceptable to the doctor, the fight was waved off.
Chaos followed, as Walker, clearly unaware of what just happened, tried to restart the fight himself, resulting in a skirmish ensuing inside the Octagon. Cooler heads ultimately prevailed, and now, the light heavyweight contenders will try to settle things once and for all this weekend in Las Vegas.
“I was mad, of course, but it is what it is,” Ankalaev said when asked about the fight being halted the way it was after he was clearly having success, adding that he “will be more focused on (his) opponent’s positions” going forward.
The episode was a strange twist in what has been one of the oddest careers to play out in the UFC in quite some time.
Ankalaev arrived in the UFC with a ton of promise and an unbeaten 8-0 record; a gifted light heavyweight with wins over recognizable names like Maxim Grishin and Wagner Prado and the skills that led many to believe he would one day challenge for championship gold.
He won 14:58 seconds of his promotional debut against Paul Craig, but tapped to a triangle choke with one second left on the clock to suffer his first career loss before rattling off nine straight victories, including his two-fight series with Cutelaba, to emerge as a championship contender.
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When titleholder Jiri Prochazka was forced to withdraw from his planned rematch with Glover Teixeira and relinquish the light heavyweight belt after suffering a major shoulder injury, Ankalaev and Jan Blachowicz were tabbed to battle for the vacant title. After getting his lead leg battered with low kicks early, the streaking standout from Dagestan rallied, taking the fight to the former champion down the stretch, dominating through to the final horn.
Once the official scores were tallied, the bout was declared a split draw, one official seeing the fight in favor of each man, and the third giving Blachowicz three rounds to two, but awarding Ankalaev a 10-8 final frame, resulting in a 47-47 scorecard.
After nearly a year on the sidelines, he returned in October to face Walker in Abu Dhabi.
The no contest verdict from their initial encounter leaves Ankalaev on both an 11-fight unbeaten streak, and without a victory in his last two outings, and as business picks up in the light heavyweight division, he understands it is imperative to settle things with Walker this weekend in order to keep himself within arm’s reach of the title he’s been chasing for the last six years and counting.
“I have already fought for a title, I just didn’t get a win, so i feel i’m close to capturing it,” he offered when asked about previous conversations where his ascension to the light heavyweight throne was always framed as an inevitable event. “(First) I need to finish this story with Johny; finish him as well and make a statement.”
Last year certainly didn’t go as planned for Ankalaev, with his lone appearance at UFC 294 going sideways and moving him no further ahead in his quest to claim championship gold.
But the new year dawns with a chance to finish things with Walker straight away and hopefully make multiple trips into the Octagon in 2024 — three would be his preference — though Ankalaev knows everything hinges on how things play out this weekend at the UFC APEX.
“(This fight is) very important,” he said. “I’m motivated and have everything to make (a victory) happen.”
UFC Fight Night: Ankalaev vs Walker 2 took placelive from the UFC APEX in Las Vegas on January 13, 2024. See the Final Results, Official Scorecards and Who Won Bonuses - and relive the action on UFC Fight Pass!
