UFC Fight Night 201: Johnny Walker vs. Jamahal Hill Picks and Predictions
Johnny Walker and Jamahal Hill face off on Saturday in a light heavyweight showdown in the main event of UFC Fight Night 201 at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas. Walker is currently ranked 10th in the light heavyweight division while Hill is ranked 12th.
Johnny Walker comes into this fight with an 18-6 record overall but he has lost three of his last four fights. Walker’s last fight came against Thiago Santos, and he lost that fight by unanimous decision, even though he outstruck Santos 48-44. Walker’s last fight came against Ryan Spann and it was midway through the first round that he won by knockout. Walker is averaging 3.42 significant strikes per minute while absorbing 2.81 significant strikes per minute. Walker mostly wants to keep the fight on the feet, only averaging 0.24 takedowns every 15 minutes. He is successful on 100 percent of his takedown attempts though. He also stops 62 percent of his opponents takedown attempts. In this fight, Walker needs to to take control of the fight early with his striking.
Jamahal “Sweet Dreams” Hill comes into this fight with a 9-1 record overall but that one loss did come two fights ago. In that fight against Paul Craig he was outstruck 23-1 and midway through the second round he was knocked out. Hill did bounce back in his last fight against Jimmy Crute. Just 48 seconds into the first round he won the fight by knockout. Hill is averaging 7.45 significant strikes per minute while absorbing 3.68 significant strikes per minute. Hill also wants to keep the fight on the feet and he hasn’t had a takedown in the UFC. He also stops 60 percent of his opponents takedown attempts.
Walker is a fun fighter to watch because he likes to do some crazy things inside the octagon, but he is really struggling coming into this fight. HIll is going to find a way to land one of the crazy kicks from Walker, and he is the better fighter in this one. Look for Hill to land a few big punches and he will finish the fight. Back Hill to win the fight by knockout.
AUTHOR: Shane Mickle
