It took former Ultimate Fighting Championship title challenger
Anthony
Smith a few more months to get a fight than he expected.
The report first came from MMA
Island on Thursday, that Smith (36-17) would be getting his
next Octagon assignment in May. Atop the unnumbered
UFC Fight Night event on May 13, Smith will be taking on
Johnny
Walker (20-7) in a pivotal light heavyweight clash. The
location of the event has not yet been determined. News of this
five-round pairing has since been confirmed by multiple
outlets.
Smith was previously slated to take on Jamahal
Hill atop an event in March, but the promotion pulled Hill to
slot him into the title fight atop UFC 283 in January – and Hill
ended up winning the championship. This unexpected change in plans
left Smith stunned on the live broadcast that announced the new
matchup, with the expectation that the UFC would give him a
suitable replacement. Smith comes into this headliner with three
wins in his last four outings, although he fought once in 2022 and
succumbed to strikes from Magomed
Ankalaev. Before then, he rattled off three first-round
finishes over Devin Clark,
Jimmy
Crute and Ryan Spann to
remain in top contention.
Brazil’s Walker is currently riding his first win streak since
2019, having felled Ion
Cutelaba in late 2022 and returning to dispatch Paul Craig
in January. The win over the former ended a two-fight skid to
Thiago
Santos and Hill, with the Hill loss a first-round knockout. As
a pro, Walker sports a spectacular finish rate of 95%, topping
Smith’s of 91%, with each of his last six victories coming inside
the distance.