Johnny Walker and Magomed Ankalaev will run it back in the UFC’s first event of 2024, set to take place on January 13th.
Their first outing ended in a disappointing fashion when Ankalaev landed an illegal knee to the head of Johnny Walker in the first round. The medical personnel decided Walker was unfit to continue and the bout was ruled an no contest after a dispute in the cage immediately after, which almost led to the two coming to blows. Walker alleged Ankaleav knew what he was doing with the strike, a claim which the Russian vehemently denies.
Prior to the Ankalaev bout, Walker was in fine form. After a quick submission victory over Ion Cutelaba, the Brazilian then faced Paul Craig and dispatched of him in devastating fashion in the first round. The win streak then continued with a punch perfect performance against Anthony Smith. Walker will be looking to put the controversy of the first fight to bed with a stellar performance against Ankalaev to continue his way up the rankings.
Although ranked number 3 in the division, you would have to go back to July of 2022 to find the last time Ankalaev had his hand raised. After a final second loss to Paul Craig in 2018, the 31-year-old went on a 9 fight tear before meeting Jan Blachowicz at UFC 282. The judges ruled the bout a draw, although Ankalaev felt he had certainly done enough to take home the victory.
Both men will be determined to secure a solid victory and not only cement themselves near the top of the 205lbs division but to put a final end to their saga.
Flyweight contenders Matheus Nicolau and Manel Kape will serve as a co-main event, with both men looking to get themselves in line for a potential title shot in the coming 12 months & Kape looking to right the wrongs of their first encounter.
After back to back losses Kape has seriously found his form in the UFC and is currently riding an impressive four fight win streak with victories against Ode Osbourne, Zhaigas Zhumagulov, David Dvorak and Felipe dos Santos.
Nicolau enters the bout looking to bounce back to winning ways following a first round TKO loss to Brandon Royval. Prior to that Nicolau was unbeaten in the UFC, beating Kape by a split decision in his promotional debut. He then went on to secure three more victories against Tim Elliott, David Dvorak and Matt Schnell before the loss to Royval.
UFC Stalwart Jim Miller will make the walk to the octagon for the 42nd time when he faces Gabriel Benitez in a Lightweight contest. The two should have squared off last year at UFC Fight Night: Andrade vs Blanchfield but prior to the bout, Benitez withdrew. Miller then ended up facing Alexander Hernandez and losing a unanimous decision but bounced back to winning ways just four months later against Jesse Butler.
Mario Bautista will look to continue his incredible form and break into the rankings against number 13 ranked Ricky Simon in a Bantamweight bout. After 6 wins in 18 months, Bautista has turned a lot of heads on his way towards the upper echelons of the 135lbs division. Simon had his first taste of main event treatment last time out in a tough bout against Yadong Song. The contest did not go in the favor of Simon, who was stopped in the fifth and final round. Before that bout Simon was flying, with big wins over and Jack Shore.
UFC Fight Night: Ankalaev vs Walker will take place on January 13th and is set to go down at the UFC APEX, Las Vegas.
