A matchup of Brazilian light heavyweights has been targeted for an
Ultimate Fighting Championship event on Sept. 25.
Former 205-pound title challenger Thiago
Santos is expected to lock horns with Johnny
Walker on the card, which hasn’t been official announced by the
promotion. While verbal agreements are in place for the fight,
contracts have not been signed. Combate
was first to report the booking. The event doesn’t have an official
location or headliner at this time.
Santos will look to end a three-bout losing streak when he squares
off against Walker. After fallling to then champion Jon Jones in a
competitive split decision at UFC 239, “Marreta” returned from
multiple knee surgeries to drop back-to-back fights against
Glover
Teixeira and Aleksandar
Rakic. The 37-year-old Brazilian was victorious in eight of
nine Octagon appearances from February 2017 to February 2019.
Walker, meanwhile, snapped a two-fight skid with a first-round
knockout of Ryan Spann at
UFC Fight Night 178 in September 2020. The former Brazilian
Contender Series competitor began his promotional tenure with three
straight first round finishes before coming back down to earth in
losses against Corey
Anderson and Nikita
Krylov.