Preview: UFC Rio Prelims

Heavyweights

Valter Walker (14-1, 3-1 UFC) vs. Mohammed Usman (11-4, 4-2 UFC)

Odds: Walker (-300); Usman (+250)

Feel free to supply your own lede for this one: “This can’t keep happening, right?” or perhaps, “Only at heavyweight.” However you want to present it, the younger (but bigger) Walker brother will attempt to build on his ridiculous streak of three straight heel hook submissions, while the younger (but bigger) Usman brother works on his own quieter, but still surprising, run of success in the UFC.

Walker is like a funhouse mirror version of his brother, notable light heavyweight wild man Johnny Walker. Both are absolutely titanic human beings with approaches to the fight game that seem too insane to work in modern high-level MMA yet somehow do. But where Johnny migrated to SBG Ireland, where his athleticism and madness coalesced into a terrifying, barely controlled cyclone of striking techniques, Valter ended up at Moscow’s GOR MMA, where mad scientists apparently molded him into an early-00s Russian-style leglock specialist. After a bizarrely flat performance in his promotional debut, “The Foot Hunter” has now reeled off three straight wins by heel hook, which we’re pretty sure is more than the entire rest of the UFC this decade.

Walker’s striking is frankly ugly. He charges his opponent, swinging huge hooks with his chin straight up in the air. That will presumably get him cold-cocked one of these days, but thus far nobody has been able to make him pay for it. In any event, his goal is to swarm his opponent and get into close range, where he uses huge knees to soften them up before going for his trademark submission. Against Kennedy Nzechukwu in his last outing, Walker actually took his man down and ended up grabbing a reverse heel hook from on top, but he is not at all averse to diving for a leg. That, too, should eventually get him pounded out—there’s a reason we don’t see many leg locks in MMA—but three opponents in a row have been too busy tapping the mat to worry about punching the face.

Usman’s run has been less spectacular than Walker’s, to say the least, but he has come a long, long way from the fighter who gassed out horribly and was overwhelmed by part-time mixed martial artist Brandon Sayles in Professional Fighters League four years ago. The punchlines practically wrote themselves, as the man who called himself “The Motor” and had to follow in the footsteps of his brother Kamaru, one of the most finely conditioned athletes in the sport, showed terrible cardio.

Since joining the UFC through “The Ultimate Fighter” Season 30, the younger Usman has improved substantially, as evidenced by his 4-2 mark in the promotion. He presents as a classic wrestle-boxer, with good but not elite power and solid combination punching. His wrestling feels underused, but it is effective against most UFC heavyweights when he does employ it. While his gas tank issues appear to be a thing of the past, he has achieved that partly through better conditioning and partly by embracing a slower workrate that conserves his energy. It is not the most fan-friendly style, and highlights for the reel have been few and far between since he clocked Zac Pauga at the “TUF” finale.

Everything about Walker’s game proclaims that he is ripe for a brutal reversal of fortune. As fun as this streak has been, one of his opponents is going to level him with a single counter right or knock him into next week with a stream of hammerfists while he goes foot hunting. Still, of all the heavyweights in the UFC right now, at least with comparable records, Usman might the least likely to end the ride. The pick is that Walker adds another foot to the trophy case—and hopefully Usman taps before his knee or ankle joins it. Walker by first-round submission, followed by Walker calling for a title shot, followed by everyone laughing, followed by everyone going, “Hmm.”



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Walker vs. Usman
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