Valter Walker was supposed to have fought at UFC Rio this past weekend, only for opponent Mohammed Usman to pull out last minute.
Now, heavyweight Walker (14-1) will instead fight two weeks later at UFC 321, where he meets promotional newcomer Louie Sutherland (10-3).
Journalist Laerte Viana was first to report the news, with Walker later confirming the match-up. UFC 321 takes place in Abu Dhabi, UAE on October 25, 2025. The card is headlined by a heavyweight title fight between champ Tom Aspinall, and former interim champ Ciryl Gane.
Prior to Usman dropping out this past weekend, Walker had won three straight fights inside the UFC octagon. All three have come via heel hook submission, an unprecedented stretch that has seen him tap Junior Tafa, Don’Tale Mayes, and Kennedy Nzechukwu.
Southerland is a former PFL and Bellator MMA fighter who recently became the Levels Fight League heavyweight champ. He’ll enter the UFC on a four-fight win streak.
UFC 321 currently features the following reported match-ups:
- Tom Aspinall (c) vs. Ciryl Gane – for the UFC heavyweight championship
- Virna Jandiroba vs. Mackenzie Dern – for the vacant UFC women’s strawweight championship
- Umar Nurmagomedov vs. Mario Bautista
- Alexander Volkov vs. Jailton Almeida
- Aleksandar Rakić vs. Azamat Murzakanov
- Ľudovít Klein vs. Mateusz Rębecki
- Ikram Aliskerov vs. Park Jun-yong
- Abdul-Kareem Al-Selwady vs. Matheus Camilo
- Nathaniel Wood vs. Jose Miguel Delgado
- Hamdy Abdelwahab vs. Chris Barnett
- Azat Maksum vs. Mitch Raposo
- Jaqueline Amorim vs. Mizuki Inoue
- Valter Walker vs. Louie Sutherland
