Anthony Smith vs Johnny Walker set to headline UFC Fight Night on May 13
Former UFC light heavyweight title challenger Anthony Smith, who is currently ranked fifth in the division, will headline a UFC Fight Night event on May 13 against seventh-ranked contender Johnny Walker. MMA Fighting was first to report that verbal agreements are in place for the fight, which does not currently have a location.
Having not competed since UFC 277 when he lost to recent title challenger Magomed Ankalaev, Anthony Smith will look to get back to his winning ways and work his way back to a title shot. Most recently, Smith was scheduled to face Jamahal Hill in March, but after the UFC 282 main event debacle, Hill was moved into the UFC 283 main event where he defeated Glover Teixeira for the vacant light heavyweight title. Despite the fact that they were set to compete against each other, Smith actually helped train Hill for the fight against Teixeira, and served as the backup for the event, although he missed weight.
Johnny Walker was also busy recently, having also competed on the UFC 283 fight card in January. Walker scored a very impressive first-round knockout victory over Paul Craig and extended his winning streak to two fights, as he has seen plenty of recent success with his team at SBG Ireland led by coach John Kavanagh.
Since competing until the very end against former champion Jon Jones in a controversial fight at UFC 235, Anthony Smith has gone 4-3 and continues to work his way back to an opportunity where he can once again compete for a title. In the fight against Jones, Smith was hit with an illegal blow and refused to take the disqualification that would’ve won him the light heavyweight championship, and fought to a decision loss against Jones.
Walker is also looking to put a run together up the division as he endured a 1-4 skid before putting his last two wins together against Ion Cutelaba and the previously mentioned Craig.
Now that Hill has earned the title, UFC President Dana White did say that former champion Jiri Prochazka will be next in line when he is ready to return from a shoulder injury as the next title challenger. When Smith and Walker face off, they will have an opportunity to put themselves in a place for a potential future contender fight for the victor in their matchup.
