Johnny
Walker has ruled out fighting his half-brother, Valter
Walker, in the
Ultimate Fighting Championship.
The Brazilian heavyweight told MMAFighting that the
violence inherent in the sport makes facing a relative
unthinkable.
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Johnny Walker rules out UFC fight with half-brother Valter
Walker despite tension over their relationship
“No, man. Am I going to fight my own brother? Are you crazy?”
Walker said. “I go in there to hurt other people. I don’t want to
hurt my own blood.”
Walker explained that fighters must set aside concern for their
opponents once they enter the cage, but he cannot imagine
approaching a fight against his brother that way.
“When we step in there, man, it’s one guy trying to kill the other.
That’s just how it is. You signed the contract, you know what
you’re getting into,” Walker explained. “But doing that to your own
brother, someone who shares your blood, there’s no way. Unless the
guy is completely crazy — and I’m not that crazy.”
Despite their differences, Johnny said he loves his younger
half-brother and hopes their relationship improves. The two have
trained together in Russia, but Johnny said Valter’s jokes and
provocative comments have caused tension between them.
“I would like to be close to my brother. I’d like to have a brother
I could count on 100 percent,” Johnny added. “But he jokes around
too much and is often disrespectful, so it makes it difficult to
get closer to him.”