Welcome to the team! Monster Energy congratulates Brazilian MMA athlete Johnny Walker on defeating Anthony Smith in the Light Heavyweight Division fight at UFC Fight Night: Rozenstruik vs Almeida in Charlotte, North Carolina, on Saturday.
In Saturday’s co-main event fight inside The Spectrum Center, the 31-year-old from Belford Roxo, Brazil dominated his opponent to a victory by unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 29-28). The victory marks Walker’s first fight for Team Monster Energy.
UFC Fight Night: Rozenstruik vs Almeida was contested in front of a high-energy crowd inside The Spectrum Center in Charlotte, North Carolina. With 14 fights on the card, the prelims and main card were broadcast live on ESPN+.
As the latest addition to Monster Energy’s mixed martial arts roster, Walker (21-7) came to North Carolina on a two-fight win streak after stopping Paul Craig at UFC 283 in January 2023, and submitting Ion Cutelaba at UFC 279 in September 2022.
His opponent on Saturday, American mixed martial artist Anthony Smith from Corpus Christi, Texas, was looking for redemption after a loss to Magomed Ankalaev at UFC 277 in July 2022.
The bout started with both fighters keeping their distance and looking for openings, Walker landing leg kicks and counter-striking with precise jabs. Smith retaliated with aggressive punches but ate powerful hooks from Walker, who finished the round with a takedown.
Round two saw Walker showing patience by connecting low kicks and body kicks from the distance, chipping away at Smith’s stamina. After missing a cartwheel kick, Walker turns up the heat with strikes – plus dangerous flying knee attempts – until the bell.
The final round started with Smith landing a heavy kick, but remained unable to get the advantage as Walker evaded the follow-up overhand right hand. More punishing low kicks to the calf by Walker that visibly slowed down his opponent. Walker defended against a takedown attempt by firing heavy punches, followed by fast-paced low kick to jab combos.
In a decisive scene, Walker used the damage to Smith’s leg to land a stiff punch that floored the American. The final moments saw Smith swinging wide but looked significantly damaged by Walker’s attacks.
When the dust settled, the judges pronounced Walker the winner by unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 29-28), extending his current victory streak to three fights.
“Before the fight happened, I accepted the results. Whatever it is,” said Walker upon winning at UFC Charlotte, adding: “I couldn’t do better. If this guy beats me, it’s because he’s better than me. So, I came here to accept the results of the fight!”
Speaking on his opponent, Walker said: “I’m very grateful I fought him, he’s a great fighter, he’s in the top ten, top five for a long time, you know? And he gave me a really good experience.”
Saturday night’s win brings Walker’s professional record to 21 wins, seven losses. The Brazilian made his UFC debut in 2018 after competing on Dana White’s Contender Series. Walker turned heads by immediately raking up three consecutive Performance of the Night bonuses with his aggressive fighting style. He has earned 16 wins by knockout and three by submission.
Johnny Walker counts amongst Monster Energy’s elite UFC athletes along with Kamaru Usman, Jon “Bones” Jones, Donald “Cowboy” Cerrone, Jorge “Gamebred” Masvidal, Chris “The All American” Weidman, Rose Namajunas, Tony Ferguson, Marlon Vera, Joanna Jędrzejczyk, Maycee “The Future” Barber, Paulo “The Eraser” Costa, Stipe “Stone Cold” Miocic, Michael Chandler, Justin Gaethje, Jessica-Rose Clark, Valentina Shevchenko, Sean “Sugar” O’Malley, Brandon Moreno, Daniel Rodriguez, Alex Pereira, Punahele Soriano, Gilbert Burns, Giga “Ninja” Chikadze, Islam Makhachev, and Gaston Bolanos.
For more on Monster Energy’s MMA athletes, visit www.monsterenergy.com. Follow Monster Energy on YouTube, Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, and TikTok.
