MMA News

Tag: Valter Walker

  • “You’ve Got To Be Nervous If You’re Tom Aspinall” – Fighters & Fans React as Valter Walker Earns Another First-Round Heel Hook Win, Delivers Highlight Post-Fight Interview At UFC 321

    “You’ve Got To Be Nervous If You’re Tom Aspinall” – Fighters & Fans React as Valter Walker Earns Another First-Round Heel Hook Win, Delivers Highlight Post-Fight Interview At UFC 321

    Valter Walker has made himself known as one to watch — and maybe now a name to know — in the UFC’s heavyweight division, taking his fourth straight win with a first-round heel hook as he defeated Louie Sutherland at UFC 321.

    Walker wasted no time in the fight, trying to pressure Sutherland and scoring a takedown in about a minute. From there, he quickly managed to find and isolate a leg, locking in the heel hook and earning another submission.

    The fourth straight heel hook is the most consecutive in UFC history and ties Rousimar Palhares for the most wins via heel hook in UFC history.

    Following the fight, Walker buried the earlier performance from Chris Barnett, comparing him to a “chocolate Peppa Pig.” He then called out the man who beat Barnett, Hamdy Abdelwahab, suggesting he’d compare a much harder challenge than Barnett did.

    Valter Walker Earns UFC Record-Tying Heel Hook Submission Win At UFC 321

    While Walker dropped his UFC debut, he adds to heel hooks he already earned over Junior Tafa, Don’Tale Mayes, and Kennedy Nzechukwu over the last 14 months.

    This marked Sutherland’s Octagon debut after previously claiming the heavyweight championship in Levels Fight League.

  • VIDEO: Valter Walker Locks Up Third Straight Heel Hook Submission, Defeating Kennedy Nzechukwu In Less Than A Minute At UFC Nashville

    VIDEO: Valter Walker Locks Up Third Straight Heel Hook Submission, Defeating Kennedy Nzechukwu In Less Than A Minute At UFC Nashville

    Three fights into UFC Nashville’s preliminary card, and we have our third finish in a row — and it’s the third finish via heel hook in a row for Valter Walker.

    Walker, the older brother of light heavyweight Johnny Walker, needed less than a minute to put away Kennedy Nzechukwu.

    Walker brought pressure right away, quickly pressing Nzechukwu to the fence. Walker then scored a takedown and quickly was able to contort one of Nzechukwu’s legs, locking up another heel hook and scoring a submission in just 54 seconds.

    Valter Walker Wins Third Straight Via Heel Hook At UFC Nashville

    In addition to three straight wins, Walker has now won four of his last five. Walker’s three heel hook submission victories over these past 12 months have helped him rebound from dropping his UFC debut against Łukasz Brzeski.

    Nzechukwu had come into this bout 2-0 since moving up to heavyweight, defeating Chris Barnett and Brzeski at UFC 308 and UFC 310, respectively.

  • ‘Some Borderline Paul Daley Behavior’ – MMA Fans React To Junior Tafa Slapping Valter Walker After Controversial Verbal Submission Loss At UFC 305

    ‘Some Borderline Paul Daley Behavior’ – MMA Fans React To Junior Tafa Slapping Valter Walker After Controversial Verbal Submission Loss At UFC 305

    A highly contentious aftermath came as the result of the finish of the featured UFC 305 prelim, as Valter Walker pulled off a sudden first-round win over Junior Tafa.

    After getting rocked by Tafa’s striking early, Walker took the fight to the ground, where he secured solid control of the fight and did not let up.

    As the seconds of the first round ticked down, Walker locked in a leg lock and got a yell of pain from Tafa, which caused the referee to step in.

    Tafa protested, slapping Walker after the fight and exchanging barbs with him.

    Though Tafa was unhappy and the UFC commentary team initially confused, the referee, under the Unified Rules of MMA, is allowed to call a verbal submission if a fighter cries out from pain.

    Valter Walker Scores Verbal Submission Win Over Junior Tafa

    https://twitter.com/FitzP980/status/1824988582051778791
    https://twitter.com/YuniBaka6/status/1824988549638246493
    https://twitter.com/cagecide/status/1824987313887162811

    Walker scores his first UFC win tonight, rebounding from dropping his UFC debut to Łukasz Brzeski in April.

    Tafa is now just 1-3 in the UFC.

  • Junior Tafa On Fighting Johnny Walker’s Brother At UFC 305: ‘I’d Like To Fight Both The Walker Brothers…’

    Junior Tafa On Fighting Johnny Walker’s Brother At UFC 305: ‘I’d Like To Fight Both The Walker Brothers…’

    In a rare situation at UFC 305, two fighters that have siblings also on the roster, will come face-to-face in the featured prelim.

    Junior Tafa is looking for his second UFC win after being stopped earlier this year by Marcos Rogério de Lima at UFC 298.

    His older brother Justin is the more experienced of the two men, with a total of nine Octagon appearances under his belt.

    The same dynamic can be found in the household of his opponent with Valter Walker looking to bounce back from a debut defeat in April.

    In comparison, his older brother Johnny Walker is a 14-fight UFC veteran and a staple of the light heavyweight division.

    Despite the difference in weight classes between them, the younger of the Tafa brothers hopes that he can run through a Walker family gauntlet in his coming fights.

    Junior Tafa Says He’d Like To Fight Both Of The ‘Cool Cat’ Walker Brothers

    During his media day interview ahead of his clash with Walker this weekend in Perth, Tafa gave his opinion on his opponent’s brother.

    He said that he would be very keen on the idea of facing both of them during his UFC tenure which would be possible with his aspirations of competing at 205-pounds.

    “Yeah preparation is good, watched a little bit of tape but yeah, I’d like to fight both of the Walker brothers if I could. I want to campaign down to light heavyweight and his brother would like to come after too.”

    Tafa then clarified that he has no personal vendetta against this particular family or the fighters they produce and if anything, wants to fight them because he’s a fan of what they do.

    “I’m a fan of their fighting style, they’re cool cats you know but, be cool to do both of them ay.”

    Read also: VIDEO: Israel Adesanya, Dricus Du Plessis, Dan Hooker, & More Complete Open Workouts Ahead Of UFC 305