Johnny Walker remains positive about his journey to the light heavyweight title shot despite a disappointing loss at UFC 244.
Prior to the Saturday’s fight card, the Brazilian mixed martial artist has set his own hype train in motion after three consecutive knockout wins for a strong start to his UFC career.
He made his promotional debut in November 2018 by finishing Khalil Rountree before pulling off his viral spinning backfist and flying knee knockout of Justin Ledet and Mirsha Cirkunov respectively.
In these occasions, Walker took home the Performance of the Night honors, which made him one of the highly-anticipated contenders for the 205-pound title.
But last weekend, things did not go as planned for the 27-year old fighter.
Seeing his three-fight winning streak come to an end, Walker suffered his first UFC career loss at the hands of Corey Anderson.
He, then, had to endure a wave of criticisms from fans and fellow light heavyweights including the reigning champion but the backlash just made the Brazilian prospect more motivated.
Taking The Blame
Reflecting on his recent loss, Walker said he was the one to blame for the stoppage as he failed to execute the right gameplan against Anderson.
“I know it was my mistake,” he said in an interview with MMA Fighting.
“I hesitated too much. I should have been more aggressive, but I didn’t.”
“I had too many people talking about his takedowns, so I waited for him to shoot, and I didn’t let my game go.”
“It was the wrong strategy. I should have listened to myself. I listened to everyone else but me. That was my mistake. I regret that.”
“I should have gone for the knockout right away like I always do, but I ended up changing my game and everything went wrong. But it’s alright – I’m ready for the next one.”
Same Plan
Not bothered with the criticisms, Walker said he remains upbeat about his chances for the light heavyweight title shot.
From his UFC 244 loss, the Brazilian fighter plans to bounce back with two straight wins before he faces Jones in a potential title bout.
“It doesn’t bother me a bit. Nothing they say will affect me. It’s quite the opposite.”
“I get more and more media as they talk, so feel free to talk.”
“My plan remains the same: I’ll beat up two more guys and get back to where I was, and then I’ll be in line for Jon Jones.”
He now sets his sights on the winner of the “Shogun” Rua vs Paul Craig bout, which will happen at UFC Sao Paolo later this month.
“I’ll be there (at UFC Sao Paulo) to watch it as a guest fighter.”
“I know that two more wins will get me back to where I was, so I’m not too off the rails. I’ll be back soon.”
“It was a learning experience. I won’t ever hesitate in a fight again, brother. Never.”
(Featured Image Source: Instagram/ Jon Jones and Johnny Walker)