The main event in Las Vegas features a rematch between two light heavyweights who are familiar with the southpaw stance.
Carrying a knack for countering, Magomed Ankalaev wields a lot of the offense that southpaws should never leave home without. Whether Ankalaev lands counter crosses to deceptive check-right hooks, the 30-year-old is decent at keeping his eyes open in exchanges.
Ankalaev also does well at using uppercuts and front kicks to check dips and level changes, which, in turn, score to the body.
Although Ankalaev seems to have a good beat on spinning attacks (likely to do the strong Wushu Sanda presence in Makhachkala), he’s shown susceptibility to leg kicks and kick counters in recent fights. Although Ankalaev has also shown instances of improved checks and kick defense throughout this same stretch, his legs will likely still be the target for Johnny Walker this time around.
An offensive marauder who towers over the majority of his peers, Walker brings a lot to the table if you’re a fan of explosive freakshows. Whether he’s parlaying spinning kicks into backfists or launching flying knees up the middle, Walker hits as hard as the liquor that his name is associated with.
Between the Brazilian wildman’s aggressive nature to the nomadic history of his training camps, there’s not a lot of process in Walker’s game to speak of. However, with the help of the John Kavanagh and the SBG Ireland crew, Walker has shown to embrace a more thoughtful and feint-heavy approach.
In Walker’s defense, he has been able to show more measured and process-based striking than before, but those improvements appear much more prevalent against orthodox-stance opposition.
Johnny Walker, who faces Magomed Ankalaev at #UFC294, is 2-3 opposite UFC-level southpaws (W: Rountree, Cirkunov; L: Hill, Abreu, Prado)
Walker shows a lot of feints/flash in open-stance fights but seems uncomfortable/largely looks to play off rear leg attacks #TheSouthpawReport pic.twitter.com/d0p5rEAtmi
— Dan Tom (@DanTomMMA) October 20, 2023
Even though Walker can comfortably attack from southpaw when facing orthodox opponents, he has traditionally shown discomfort when facing southpaws, heavily relying on rear-side attacks.
This story originally appeared on MMA Junkie