The featured prelim at UFC Abu Dhabi found heel hook monster Valter Walker facing off against American DWCS alum Thomas Petersen, in a fight that found Walker fighting out his contract.
Four straight heel hook submissions carried Walker into the fight. There was no heel hook from “The Clean Monster” on Saturday, but there was another leg lock in his future. An impressive one at that.
The fight went to the ground early, and no surprise, Walker immediately attacked with the heel hook. Walker rolled, and Petersen rolled with him. While he survived the heel hook, Petersen was still trapped. He tried to scramble, more accurately crawl, away from the Brazilian, but his leg was still stuck, this time in a calf slicer. The pressure was on, and Petersen had no choice but to tap. Giving Walker yet another leg lock submission, his fifth straight first-round submission in the UFC.
“This fight, I don’t want to do submission,” Walker told Daniel Cormier following the bout. His coach, however, told him to go out and make history. He then announced he was opening Walker BJJ in Moscow, to teach others his techniques.
Walker also called out Ciryl Gane, saying he wanted to “punch him in the back of the head” after Gane defeated Alex “Poatan” Pereira at the White House earlier this year. “Chama!” Walker added, borrowing Pereira’s well-known catchphrase.
Official Result: Valter Walker def. Thomas Petersen by submission (calf slicer), Round 1, 1:32
