Walker calls for Gustafsson fight at UFC Stockholm

Rising UFC light heavyweight Johnny Walker wants to go to enemy territory for his next fight.

Johnny Walker wants a big step-up in competition in his next fight.

The rising UFC light heavyweight is interested in a bout against former title challenger Alexander Gustafsson, ESPN’s Ariel Helwani reported Monday night. Walker wants to fight Gustafsson in his home country of Sweden, where the promotion is set to return for UFC Stockholm on June 1.

Gustafsson has not yet expressed either interest or disinterest in the Walker fight.

Also according to Helwani, Walker suffered a mild shoulder injury after his win over Misha Cirkunov at UFC 235 last weekend in Las Vegas. After his quick flying-knee knockout of Cirkunov, Walker collapsed to the mat to celebrate; Walker said in his post-fight interview he believed he dislocated his shoulder. But by the time the Brazilian spoke to backstage media, his shoulder was back in place.

Walker is expected to recover from the injury in four weeks, per the report. Regardless of whether or not he gets Gustafsson, Walker is aiming for a return fight in either May or June.

Walker has quickly made waves in the UFC since signing with the promotion late last year. He knocked out Khalil Rountree in his debut, then followed that performance up with a 14-second knockout of Justin Ledet just over a month ago at UFC Fortaleza. Walker is now 3-0 in the UFC.

Walker stepped up against Cirkunov on about two weeks’ short notice, replacing Ovince Saint Preux.

Walker has also drawn eyes for his fun personality and entertaining post-fight interviews and celebrations. He is already considered one of the most promising prospects currently at 205 pounds.

Gustafsson is coming off a third-round TKO loss to now-light heavyweight champion Jon Jones last December at UFC 232. The fight was for the vacant belt. Before then, “The Mauler” hadn’t fought since May 2017, when he finished Glover Teixeira.