Johnny Walker Stuns Zhang Mingyang With Comeback Knockout at UFC Shanghai

It’s always hard to go into enemy territory, but Johnny Walker proved he was up to the task. Things didn’t start well for the Brazilian light heavyweight on Saturday night in Shanghai, where hometown favorite Zhang Mingyang came out swinging and had Walker on the back foot in the opening round of their UFC Fight Night main event.

Johnny Walker silenced the home crowd on Saturday with a comeback for the ages, knocking out Zhang Mingyang in the second round of the main event at UFC Fight Night in Shanghai.

Walker Ends Skid, Zhang’s Streak

The 33-year-old Brazilian entered the bout on a two-fight losing streak. Both by knockout, and endured a rough opening round as Zhang pressed forward with heavy shots. But Walker (22-9, 1 NC) weathered the storm and adjusted his game plan in Round 2, targeting Zhang’s legs with vicious calf kicks.

A clean kick buckled Zhang, followed by a second that dropped him hard to the canvas. Walker pounced, finishing with ground-and-pound at 2:37 of the round. The victory halted Zhang’s (19-7) 12-fight win streak. Which stretched back to 2019, and marked his first time past Round 1 in six years.

“My kick is awesome, right?” Walker said afterward, addressing the crowd with a few words in Chinese and paying respect to Zhang. “A tough fighter from China, a lot of straight wins. It’s a really good experience to fight a guy that’s very tough. You see, I’m durable. I got some punches in the face today and I keep coming, and then I got him. This is MMA. Amazing, right?” The win keeps Walker ranked No. 13 at light heavyweight in the UFC’s official rankings, with Zhang just one spot behind him.