Ankalaev vs Walker

Who won Ankalaev vs Walker?

Magomed Ankalaev beat Johnny Walker by knockout in the 2nd round during the main event of UFC Fight Night, on Saturday 13th January 2024 at UFC Apex in Las Vegas.

The fight was scheduled to take place over 5 rounds in the Light Heavyweight division, which meant the weight limit was 205 pounds (14.6 stone or 93 KG).

Ankalaev vs Walker stats

Magomed Ankalaev stepped into the octagon with a record of 17 wins, 1 loss and 1 draw, 9 of those wins coming by the way of knock out.

Johnny Walker made his way to the cage with a record of 21 wins, 7 losses and 0 draws, 16 of those wins coming by knock out and 3 by submission.

This was Magomed Ankalaev's 15th fight in the UFC, having made his debut for the promotion in 2018. Johnny Walker marked his 14th fight for them, having made his own debut for the promotion in 2018.

Magomed Ankalaev's UFC record stood at 12-1-1, while Johnny Walker's came in at 7-6-0.

The stats suggested Walker had a large advantage in power over Ankalaev, boasting a 76% knock out percentage over Ankalaev's 53%.

If the fight went to the ground, their records suggested Walker had an advantage over Ankalaev, with a 14% submission rate over Ankalaev's 0%.

Magomed Ankalaev was the same age as Johnny Walker, at 33 years old.

Walker had a height advantage of 3 inches over Ankalaev. That also extended to a 7-inch reach advantage.

Ankalaev's experience as a professional fighter was relatively equal to Walker's, having had 9 fewer fights, and made his debut in 2014, 1 month later than Walker, whose first professional fight was in 2013. He had fought 13 more professional rounds, 60 to Walker's 47.

Ankalaev vs Walker form

Ankalaev had won all 5 of his most recent fights, stopping 2 opponents and going to the judges 3 times.

In his last fight leading up to this contest, he had won against Thiago Santos at UFC Fight Night on 12th March 2022 by unanimous decision in their 5 round contest at UFC APEX, Las Vegas, United States.

Previous to that, he had beaten Volkan Oezdemir at UFC 267 on 30th October 2021 by unanimous decision in their 3 round contest.

Going into that contest, he had defeated Ion Cutelaba at UFC 254 on 24th October 2020 by knockout in the 1st round at UFC Fight Island, Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates.

Before that, he was victorious against Ion Cutelaba at UFC on ESPN+ 27 on 29th February 2020 by knockout in the 1st round at Chartway Arena, Norfolk, United States.

He had won against Klidson Abreu at UFC on ESPN+ 3 on 23rd February 2019 by unanimous decision in their 3 round contest at O2 Arena, Prague, Czech Republic.

Walker had beaten 2 of his last 5 opponents, stopping 1 of them, going the distance once.

In his last fight before this contest, he had lost to Volkan Oezdemir at UFC Fight Night: Whittaker vs. Aliskerov on 22nd June 2024 by knockout in the 1st round at Kingdom Arena, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.

Previous to that, he had been beaten by Magomed Ankalaev at UFC Fight Night: Ankalaev vs. Walker on 13th January 2024 by knockout in the 2nd round at UFC Apex, Las Vegas, United States.

Going into that contest, his fight against Magomed Ankalaev at UFC 294 on 21st October 2023 ended in a no contest.

Before that, he had beaten Anthony Smith at UFC Fight Night – Rozenstruik vs. Almeida on 13th May 2023 by unanimous decision in their 3 round contest at Spectrum Center, Charlotte, United States.

He had defeated Paul Craig at UFC 283 on 21st January 2023 by knockout in the 1st round at Jeunesse Arena, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.

Activity check

In terms of activity leading into the fight, Johnny Walker had been fighting more than Magomed Ankalaev.

Going to this contest, Magomed Ankalaev had last fought 3 years, 3 months and 15 days ago, while Johnny Walker's last outing had been 1 year and 5 days ago.

Ankalaev's last 5 fights had come over a period of 6 years, 4 months and 4 days, meaning he had been fighting on average every 1 year, 3 months and 8 days. In those fights, he fought a total of 13 rounds, meaning that they had lasted 2.6 rounds on average.

Walker's last 5 fights had come over a period of 2 years, 5 months and 6 days, meaning he had been fighting on average every 5 months and 26 days. In those fights, he fought a total of 8 rounds, meaning that they had lasted 1.6 rounds on average.

What were the odds on Ankalaev vs Walker?

Magomed Ankalaev was a 9/50 (-560) favourite going into the contest, while Johnny Walker made his way into the ring at 4/1 (+400) with oddsmakers.