Johnny Walker’s Fighting Style: Kick Boxing, BJJ, and Other Martial Arts Used by Brazilian UFC Star

Johnny Walker is all set to clash against Volkan Oezdemir at the UFC Saudi Arabia in a highly anticipated light heavyweight clash. Walker is on a one-fight losing streak against Magomed Ankalaev and needs this win to keep his #7th rank status on the UFC’s light heavyweight rankings.  On the other hand, Oezdemir is currently ranked at #9th.

Walker is known to be one of the goofiest fighters in all of the UFC. His fighting style is heavily inclined to striking. However, still he uses some obnoxious combos to keep the match interesting. Consequently, ahead of his clash against Oezdemir, let us have a look at Walker’s fighting style.

Assessing Johnny Walker’s striking abilities

Johnny Walker is known to be a predominant striker than any other form of martial arts. The Brazilian sensation has a record of 21 victories and 8 losses. The Brazilian sensation has won most of his bouts by way of knockouts. If we talk about percentages then approximately 76% of his victories came by way of knockouts.

Walker has been a dominant striker for most of his career, however, if we were to have a look at his fighting style then we could witness that he avoids any mid-range boxing. Why, you ask? Well, Walker likes to strike his opponent from a kickboxing range where he uses his long reach to throw some long-range attacks at his opponents.

Most of his arsenal includes powerful round kicks, low side kicks, and unpredictable jumping kicks, which he uses to maintain distance and inflict damage. Johnny Walker wants one thing from his opponent and that is for them to close the gap as it would work in the favour of the Brazilian. He counters with switch-stance check hooks, jump knees, and spinning back fists, making him a formidable opponent who can end a fight suddenly if his foe stays at the range for too long.

Well, now that we know about Walker’s striking abilities, let’s dive deeper and take a look at his grappling.

Is Walker a grappler? Which BJJ belt does he own?

Johnny Walker is not known to be a wrestler. Take-down defense has fairly never worked for the Brazilian. Walker tends to use more striking than wrestling in his fights. However, Walker certainly has some insane mat skills as BJJ is one of his core fighting styles. His humongous size helps him to subdue his opponents when they are down.

As of today, Walker has won 14% of his fights by way of submission which is not a lot for UFC but when you look at the light-heavyweight division then it’s one of the best. Johnny Walker is a brown belt in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu. His clash against Ion Cutelaba saw some excellent BJJ as he defeated him by way of a rear naked choke.

Grappling is definitely not one of Johnny Walker’s strengths, however, he knows how to capitalize on it. His upcoming clash would be interesting as his upcoming opponent is a mixture of striking and grappling. Regardless, what’s your take on Walker’s fighting style? State your thoughts in the comments below.