Volkan Oezdemir’s power was on full display once again Saturday as he savagely knocked out Johnny Walker in Round 1 of their UFC on ABC 6 bout.
The light heavyweight fight kicked off the main card at Kingdom Arena and ended at 2:28 after a pair of Oezdemir (20-7 MMA, 8-6 UFC) punches to the dome of Walker (21-9 MMA, 7-6 UFC).
Walker was in semi-survival mode for much of the minute that led up to his demise. Oezdemir landed more throughout the sequence and Walker was unable to reset himself completely. A left-right combination folded Walker like a lawn chair. Already scrambled, Walker then absorbed a massive follow-up shot that stiffened his entire body.
VOLKAN OEZDEMIR SLEEPS JOHNNY WALKER 💥 #UFCSaudiArabia pic.twitter.com/VXaXb4rN7f
— ESPN MMA (@espnmma) June 22, 2024
With a busted nose, Walker was alert and sitting on the stool after the knockout but was not present for the final decision.
After the victory, Oezdemir mentioned Jan Blachowicz and Jamahal Hill as potential next opponents. Oezdemir has won back-to-back fights and three of his most recent four.
Walker has been knocked out in back-to-back fights and is winless in his most recent three.
Up-to-the-minute UFC on ABC 6 results include:
- Volkan Oezdemir def. Johnny Walker via knockout (punches) – Round 1, 2:28
- Nasrat Haqparast def. Jared Gordon via split decision (29-28, 28-29, 29-28)
- Felipe Lima def. Muhammad Naimov via submission (rear-naked choke) – Round 3, 1:15
- Rinat Fakhretdinov def. Nicolas Dalby via split decision (29-28, 28-29, 29-28)
- Muin Gafurov def. Kyung Ho Kang via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27)
- Magomed Gadzhiyasulov def. Brendson Ribeiro via majority decision (29-28, 29-28, 28-28)
- ChangHo Lee def. Xiao Long via split decision (29-28, 28-29, 29-28)
For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC on ABC 6.
