Johnny Walker open to stunning seven-day turnaround as back-up option for UFC 334 title fight

Johnny Walker has volunteered to be the back-up fighter for Saturday’s UFC 334 main event, as Ciryl Gane prepares to defend his heavyweight title.

Gane will put the belt on the line against Josh Hokit at New York City’s Madison Square Garden, but Walker is ready to step in if needed – just seven days after fighting.

Last Saturday, Walker stopped Waldo Cortes-Acosta in the third round to move to 2-0 at heavyweight, one month after his debut in the division, when he knocked out Mick Parkin with a first-round knee.

And Walker, who made his name at light-heavyweight, is keen to keep his momentum going.

The Brazilian, 34, told MMA Fighting: “If someone drops out of the title fight next week or gets injured, they can put me in there, too!

“If they need someone to step in, I’m here. I didn’t get hurt too badly, no. My face is just a little swollen because I ate a lot of punches, right? I got hit a lot and it got swollen, but I didn’t suffer any injuries.”

Walker, who lives in Las Vegas where he beat Cortes-Acosta, added that he would want the UFC to pay for his flight to New York. He also said that, if he is not drafted in at UFC 334, he would like to compete once more before receiving a title fight.

“If it’s for the title, I’ll do something crazy and fight [next week] anyway,” he said, “but ideally, I’d fight around February or March. Hokit could be an option, right? If Hokit loses, that would be a wonderful scenario for me, because I could already fight him.”

Walker’s overall record now stands at 24-10, with the Brazilian known for his entertaining striking style and his ability to be on the right and wrong end of wild KOs.

He has already fought three times in 2026, with a split-decision loss to Dominick Reyes marking the end of his light-heavyweight venture in April. Then came the October KO of Parkin and Saturday’s stoppage of Cortes-Acosta.

This weekend, Gane defends the undisputed heavyweight belt for the first time, having won the interim belt in June before being elevated in September.

The Frenchman knocked out Alex Pereira at the White House to become a two-time interim champion, three months before Tom Aspinall gave up the regular title.

Aspinall did so due to ongoing complications from an eye injury, which was caused by Gane in their fight last October. Aspinall has not fought since that bout, which was ruled a first-round no-contest due to Gane’s repeated eye pokes.

Even Gane’s win over Pereira was controversial; the Frenchman seemingly struck the former light-heavyweight champion on the back of the head numerous times during the finishing sequence, and such blows are illegal.

Perhaps even more controversial than Gane, however, is Hokit.

The American, who has proven divisive due to his WWE-style character, drew particular criticism for labelling Michelle Obama “a man” in June, after he stopped Derrick Lewis at the White House.

In the lead-up to that fight, security guards removed Hokit from a press conference at which he insulted Pereira and fellow UFC star Ilia Topuria.