Johnny Walker: Heavyweight move ‘won’t take long’ after Francis Ngannou spar

Francis Ngannou and Johnny Walker | Photo via Johnny Walker Johnny Walker faces one-time title challenger Dominick Reyes in a crucial bout in the UFC light heavyweight division on the main card portion of UFC 327 this Saturday in Miami, and there’s a chance his next bout is in a different weight class. Confident in his return to action eight months after a second-round upset over Zhang Mingyang in Shanghai, where he knocked out the Chinese prospect in enemy territory, Walker revealed he’s tired of feeling “depleted” by the cut to 205 pounds and could soon go to heavyweight. “I’m thinking about it because the diet has been rough,” Walker told MMA Fighting.

“If there’s an opportunity, if a heavyweight fight gets cancelled or anything, I’m in. ” Walker now lives and trains in Las Vegas, working alongside former UFC champions Sean Strickland and Francis Ngannou, and feels that his size and skills would do just fine at heavyweight after sharing the cage with “The Predator” in the gym. “I’ve been training with Francis Ngannou, sparring with him,” Walker said.

“Even while dieting, with about a 44-pound difference since I’m much lighter now, I’ve been able to train with him just fine. Even in wrestling, strength, and ground-and-pound. If I can do that while dieting, imagine without it?

” Walker won eight of 15 UFC bouts as a light heavyweight, piling up a list of wins that includes past title challengers Khalil Rountree Jr. and Anthony Smith, and feels that his performance is somewhat limited after forcing his body down to 205 pounds on the week of the fight. “It’d be way better [at heavyweight] because on a diet I can’t train properly,” Walker said.