Kicking off the UFC Saudi Arabia main card on Saturday was a light heavyweight clash between two top-10 contenders, Johnny Walker and Volkan Oezdemir.
After seeing his three-fight win streak snapped by Magomed Ankalaev in his last outing, Walker stepped inside the Octagon at Kingdom Arena in Riyadh determined to get back into the win column and take one more step toward his first shot at UFC gold. Standing in his way was Oezdemir, a mainstay at 205 coming off a big first-round submission victory over Bogdan Guskov in September.
Round 1
Oezdemir comes out and immediately takes the center of the cage, pressuring Walker to the outer part of the cage. Walker fires a couple of front keeps to keep his opponent at a distance. Oezdemir looks to land early and Walker makes him pay for it with a few stiff low kicks to the lead leg of Oezdemir. Both fighters show great patience in the early going with Walker continuing the kick-heavy attack. Oezdemir moves in and lands a nice combination against the fence, punishing Walker’s body.
Oezdemir lands his own calf kick followed by a left hand. Oezdemir throws a leaping left hook that catches and drops Walker. Oezdemir pours it on catching Walker against the fence. Walker is down, but not out, prompting Oezdemir to land an uncontested uppercut that flatlined Walker in the opening round.
Official Result: Volkan Oezdemir def. Johnny Walker via KO (strikes) at 2:28 of Round 1.
Check Out Highlights From Johnny Walker vs. Volkan Oezdemir at UFC Saudi Arabia:
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