Corey Anderson took home a huge victory at UFC 244, knocking out hyped contender Johnny Walker in the very first round.
Corey Anderson has had his ups and downs, but comes into UFC 244 on a three-fight run, including wins over Glover Teixeira and Ilir Latifi. Johnny Walker is the next big thing in the light heavyweight division. Since joining the UFC, the Brazilian has earned three electrifying knockouts, all under two minutes. He’s coming off a 36-second flying knee KO against Misha Cirkunov.
Johnny Walker started out with awkward movement on the feet that led to a leg kick about 30 seconds in. Anderson shot for a takedown at the first-minute mark, but Walker stuffed with ease. They separated and Anderson landed a huge overhand right that knocked Walker down. Anderson let Walker stand up and continued to land heavy hands. Walker never went down, but was only taking punishment, forcing the ref to stop the fight.
After the fight was stopped, Anderson yelled in the face of Walker and had to be held back by the referee. This could be interpreted as him letting out the frustrations of being constantly overlooked, as he went around the cage with a finger to his lips to silence the naysayers.
The right hand was on 🎯#UFC244 pic.twitter.com/QZxSoq5H8r
— UFC (@ufc) November 3, 2019
Corey Anderson explained in the post-fight interview that nobody realized Walker had been knocked out with right hands in the past, and that was the gameplan. It was executed perfectly, and he simply said that there are levels to this, while calling for a shot at the title.
Corey Anderson def. Johnny Walker by TKO (Punches) in Round 1 (2:07)
