if you do not know, now you do know

This was a fun and interesting main card fight that is now a somewhat weak main event. Neither of these guys have had the perfect start to their young UFC careers, but they are both still potential contenders in the UFC light heavyweight division.

And what makes this fight really interesting – is that this fight feels like a ‘one or the other’ kind of situation. Where one of these two could establish themselves as a future potential contender, but it is unlikely they both will be. And there is no better way to find out then lock them in the octagon!

Johnny Walker is interesting. He developed a reputation as a wild man with some highlight reel KOs, beginning his UFC career 3-0 with 3 1^st round KO wins. But has since had trouble producing the same results after fighter the upper echelon of the 205 pound division. He is 1-3 in his last 4, and that one win came after being in the verge of deafeat to Ryan Spann. Walkers most recent fight was against of the divisions best, Thiago Santos. And he lost the fight via unanimous decision, but it was one of his more interesting performances. It was not the usual wild man approach, where his vulnerable chin would be tested hunting for the KO. He was much more patient and showed a better takedown defence. It is really difficult to assume a fighter is going to be able to get back to their winning ways after a losing streak, but Johnny Walker has showed signs of improvement. And he has many natural abilities and attributes working in his favour. The only thing that really matters is results, and he has not had positive results for some time. But I think we have reason to hold out hope that Johnny Walker can turn it around.

Jamahal Hill might be best known for that gruesome arm injury he suffered at UFC 263 to Paul Craig. But he has had a fairly successful start to his UFC career, finishing 3 of his 4 wins via KO. Hill has had only one contest against a truly established UFC fighter, and that was his loss to Paul Craig. If you’re going to be fighting the lower end of the UFCs 205 division, KOs are what you want to see. 

Both these guys are most likely going to want to keep it standing, but the first guy to to show a willingness to mix it up may have an advantage. The betting line is heavily in Jamahal Hills favour, but I believe the Walkers high level experience, and possibility for either of these guys to get clipped it being discounted too much.

We’ll learn a lot about both of these guys after this fight, important for both their careers.