Report: Ankalaev, Walker to meet at UFC 294
A massive light heavyweight bout is set for UFC 294 as Magomed Ankalaev takes on Johnny Walker on Oct. 21 in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates, sources told MMA Junkie.
Ankalaev's most recent trip to the Octagon was a split draw in a vacant title bout with Jan Blachowicz last December. That result left the division without a champion and led to the UFC booking another vacant title fight between Jamahal Hill and Glover Teixeira.
Ankalaev had won nine straight fights before the tie with Blachowicz, beating the likes of Anthony Smith, Thiago Santos, Volkan Oezdemir, and Nikita Krylov.
Walker is riding a career-best winning streak, having beaten Smith, Paul Craig, and Ion Cutelaba.
Ankalaev and Walker are the Nos. 2- and 6-ranked light heavyweights, respectively.
It now appears likely that Jiri Prochazka and Alex Pereira will square off for the vacant belt. Hill, who defeated Teixeira in January to become champ, relinquished the title earlier in July due to an injury. Pereira, a former UFC middleweight champion, defeated No. 3 Blachowicz this past weekend at UFC 291 in what many believed was a No. 1 contender bout. Prochazka, a former 205-pound champion who gave up the belt in 2022 due to an injury, is ranked No. 1 in the division.
UFC 294 will feature a lightweight title rematch between champion Islam Makhachev and ex-champ Charles Oliveira, as well as a pivotal middleweight matchup between Paulo Costa and Khamzat Chimaev.