Johnny Walker has changed things up in terms of what gym he is honing his skills at and seems excited to show off a whole new set of skills in the cage in the coming days.
Walker aims to break a winless streak across his last three outings when he does battle with Zhang Mingyang this weekend at UFC Shanghai. August 23rd marks the first fight of the calendar year for the Brazilian combatant and Walker seems supremely confident in the changes he has made in his training preparations heading into UFC Fight Night 257.
The shift in his training camp methodology has seen the exciting light heavyweight competitor transition over to Xtreme Couture in Las Vegas. During an interview with XC coach Eric Nicksick regarding how this shift in gyms will not just benefit him for Saturday’s fight but will benefit him for his career progression overall, Johnny Walker said,
“You have to evolve and reinvent yourself. If you keep the same style, people prepare for you and stop you. You don’t break through the wall by punching it, you learn to climb and jump over it.”
Johnny Walker is learning chinese before UFC Shanghai bout
Johnny Walker is approaching this next fight in such a comprehensive way that he is even learning the language of the countrymen he is about to compete in front of. This was something that the number thirteen 205 pound contender mentioned during an interview with MMA Junkie Radio as Walker stated [via MMA News],
“Wherever I go in the world, I feel at home. I see the Chinese here, they all like me, you know. I’m learning a little bit of Chinese as well to connect with the fans already. And I can’t wait to come back to China to fight again. I’m going to get the crowd on my side too and I’m going to do a good job here because it’s a good place to be, China, big market, and it’s really a good city, has good food, good everything here as well.”
“Even if they’re not, they’re going to be on my side after, because I’m going to win this fight and I’m going to conquer the crowd for sure. And the dream of the Chinese belt championship is going to still live in me, you know? I can bring the belt back here when I get it.”
“Of course, I’ve been practicing my Chinese a bit and I know some Chinese words, and one is very special that is going to connect with the crowd.”
“Wherever I go in the world, I feel at home. The Chinese fans are amazing, they like me. I’m already learning some Chinese to connect with them. I can’t wait to come back and fight again here.”
