Top light heavyweight contenders Johnny Walker and Magomed Ankalaev are set to run things back after the controversial ending to their first fight at UFC 294.
Dana White Polishes Next Fight For Alex Pereira: "That Makes Sense"
The UFC light heavyweight division finally has a new champion after Alex Pereira stopped Jiří Procházka in the main event of UFC 295 last weekend, and now fans are eagerly waiting to see which fighter the Brazilian will defend his title against first.
The main card matchup between Ankalaev and Walker looked to have serious light heavyweight title implications heading into UFC 294, but unfortunately the fight ended in a No Contest when Ankalaev landed an illegal knee and the doctor surprisingly waved the fight off after communicating with Walker.
Both light heavyweights clearly wanted to resume fighting even after the bout was waved off, and during an appearance on The MMA Hour this week SBG Ireland head coach John Kavanagh revealed to Ariel Helwani that Walker and Ankalaev will rematch at a UFC Fight Night event on January 13.
Kavanagh did note during his appearance on The MMA Hour that there was talk of a quicker turnaround for Walker at UFC Shanghai or UFC 296, but given that the Brazilian did absorb a significant knee from Ankalaev his team felt that a rematch on the first UFC card of 2024 made the most sense.
Set to take place at the UFC Apex facility in Las Vegas, the UFC Fight Night card on January 13 does not currently have an official main event. The rematch between Ankalaev and Walker certainly looks to be the likely headliner considering the importance that fight has for the UFC light heavyweight division as well as the fanfare around how their first meeting ended.
Other standout bouts currently scheduled for the January 13 UFC card currently include Manel Kape attempting to extend his four-fight win streak against Matheus Nicolau, as well as #13-ranked bantamweight contender Ricky Simón looking to get back on track against the surging Mario Bautista.
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