Ranked light heavyweights will collide on May 17.
At a UFC Fight Night event, Johnny Walker and Azamat Murzakanov will square off in a three-round battle. Two people with knowledge of the matchup recently informed MMA Junkie of the booking but asked to remain anonymous as the promotion has yet to make an official announcement.
The event has been publicly rumored by some fighters and their management groups to be slated for Qatar, though the promotion has yet to announce the card or its location.
Walker (21-9 MMA, 7-6 UFC) aims to snap a two-fight skid that consists of knockout losses to current UFC light heavyweight champion Magomed Ankalaev and perennial contender Volkan Oezdemir.
Murzakanov (14-0 MMA, 4-0 UFC) returns from a six-month drug test suspension that knocked him out of a UFC 309 showdown vs. Nikita Krylov in November. UFC antidoping program CSAD determined the positive drug test was due to a dietary supplement that did not have the banned substance listed on the label. Murzakanov enters the bout with UFC wins over Tafon Nchukwi, Devin Clark, Dustin Jacoby, and Alonzo Menifield.
With the addition, the UFC Fight Night lineup for May 17 includes:
- Johnny Walker vs. Azamat Murzakanov
- Ismail Naurdiev vs. Jun Yong Park
- Shamil Gaziev vs. Serghei Spivac
- Hamdy Abdelwahab vs. Mohammed Usman
