Looking to crack the top-10 in the UFC’s light heavyweight division, Jamahal Hill will take on Johnny Walker in the first quarter of 2022.
Slated for Feb. 19, Jamahal Hill returns to action after earning a swift knockout victory against Jimmy Crute back in Dec. Meanwhile, Walker is looking to cement his stay in the top-10 at light heavyweight after losing a close decision to former title challenger Thiago Santos. MMA Fighting first revealed the news on Monday.
When Hill fought Paul Craig in June of last year, there was definite heat behind the match-up. However, the bout ended in gnarly circumstances as the fight was called after an arm injury was sustained while in guard. Hill is coming off an emphatic TKO win but Walker will return after losing his last bout despite it being closely contested.
Johnny Walker & Jamahal Hill Battle For Top-10 Ranking
Walker began his UFC tenure with an exciting performance on the Contender Series in 2018. The quirky Brazilian caught fire in the UFC rather quickly after accumulating three knockout finishes in a row. He managed to finish Khalil Rountree with a flurry of vicious standing elbows. Following that spectacular performance, Walker once again turned in a highlight reel showing after scoring a hook kick/spinning back fist knockout against Justin Ledet.
After taking out three solid competitors in a row including Misha Cirkunov, Johnny Walker met his match in the early goings of his fight with Corey Anderson. The two slung leather in the first round, but Anderson was able to bite down on his mouthpiece and deliver the more calculated blows. Walker would succumb to Anderson’s power in the first round. Following his loss to Anderson, he once again tasted defeat but it was a unanimous decision that set him back when he faced Nikita Krylov in March of 2020.
Jamahal Hill is also a Contender Series alum and won his qualifying bout against Alexander Poppeck. The fight lasted two rounds but Poppeck was unable to stave off the heavy pressure that Hill continued to implement. In 2019, Hill earned his ticket into the UFC after finishing the fight with a series of elbows from mount. The light heavyweight pairing could shake up the rankings with Hill having a shot at entering the top-10 of the UFC’s 205-pound division.
With the addition of Johnny Walker vs. Jamahal Hill, here is an updated lineup for the UFC card on Feb. 19:
- Kyle Daukaus vs. Julian Marquez
- Alexander Romanov vs. Ilir Latifi
- Johnny Walker vs. Jamahal Hill
- Jesse Strader vs. Chad Anheliger
- Austin Lingo vs. Jonathan Pearce
- Chas Skelly vs. Mark Striegl
- Mario Bautista vs. Khalid Taha
- Nasrat Haqparast vs. John Makdessi
- Diana Belbiţă vs. Gloria de Paula
- Jessica-Rose Clark vs. Stephanie Egger
