"Annoying guy" - When Johnny Walker described experience of sparring with "crazy" Sean Strickland
Johnny Walker had the chance to partner up with UFC middleweight champion Sean Strickland for a sparring session two years ago in Las Vegas.
During an interview with Ag Fight (via Bloody Elbow) in November 2021, Walker discussed his experience training alongside 'Tarzan':
“We had two sparring sessions. The first one I had just come back from Brazil. I had been eating sweets, barbecue. I arrived in Vegas, I took my COVID-19 shot and booked the session. That day I had a fever, my body was aching, I was all messed up. I was unable to put on a good performance because I felt tired. Still, I put up a fight. In the last round, he was shouting ‘Come on. Let’s go.’ I was like, ‘Let’s go.' But I felt sleepy, my body ached. Annoying guy. He has good boxing, but if you add kicks and elbows, he can’t play.”
“Two days later, after the COVID-19 shot effects had worn off, I asked him to do it again and he accepted it,” Walker added. “That time around it was different, I was the one shouting at him. He likes to yell, he’s a crazy guy, but cool. I learned some stuff from him. He used his elbow to block punches when boxing. He can stop crosses like that and it hurts the hand. I even hurt my biceps. I got that technique from him. I think it works for me, it was nice.”
Walker is poised to face Magomed Ankalaev in the main event of UFC Vegas 84, set to take place tonight (Saturday, Jan. 13, 2024) at the Apex Facility in Las Vegas, Nevada.
The two fighters previously met at UFC 294 last October, resulting in a controversial no-contest. During the bout, Ankalaev delivered an illegal knee to a grounded Walker, leading to the fight being stopped when a ringside physician deemed the Brazilian unfit to continue.
Johnny Walker's shoulder saga: Exploring a bizarre injury and the battle with post-surgery depression
Johnny Walker once sustained one of the most peculiar injuries in UFC history due to his well-known enthusiasm for theatrical celebrations.
In March 2019, the Brazilian fought Misha Cirkunov at UFC 235 and delivered a strong performance that led to a first-round TKO victory through a flying knee.
Walker celebrated his triumph by doing the worm dance, but his excitement was cut short when he dislocated his shoulder. Consequently, he underwent surgery, and was sidelined him for several months.
During an interview with TMZ Sports last year, Johnny Walker disclosed that he experienced post-surgery depression:
"I don't know what depression is actually, but probably I was a little bit down at that time because I was in post-surgery depression, I think. I was not patient, I was a little bit sad, I lost myself a little bit, you know? And I fought against my brother when I was in Thailand. I shouldn't [have done] that. We just fixed it really quick but it was a bad fight."
Check out Johnny Walker's comments below (2:30):