Johnny Walker Withdraws from UFC 311 Due to 'Bad Injury'

Johnny Walker won’t be competing at UFC 311 as originally planned.

The Brazilian light heavyweight recently announced that he has been forced to withdraw from a proposed clash against Bogdan Guskov due to a “bad injury.” Walker did not reveal the exact nature of the ailment. It is unclear if Guskov will remain on the card against a replacement opponent. UFC 311 is currently scheduled to take place on Jan. 18 at the Intuit Dome in Los Angeles and is headlined by a lightweight championship clash between Islam Makhachev and Arman Tsarukyan.

“Bad news. I’ve been pulled out by a bad injury next week at UFC 311. So I’m not going to be competing. I’m devastated,” Walker said in a video on social media. “A lot of hard work I put in a few months, trained a lot, and I really want to come back and do the show for you, but not this time. I wish Bogdan good luck, hopefully he can find an opponent because he probably put a lot of hard work as well, so hopefully he can find a replacement very soon.

“…I know this is not good news, but I have to make a right decision and accept this and recover, come back strong. . Everybody knows I’m a dad now, Caio is my little baby, I have to fight for them, for my family, and I have to put myself in the best position for come back strong and all, take step by step. Sorry guys, but I’ll be back stronger, heal as quick as I can and come back to put the show on again.”

Walker is seeking his first victory since May 2023, when he took a unanimous verdict over Anthony Smith at UFC on ABC 4. The 32-year-old Rio de Janeiro native is coming off back-to-back knockout losses against Magomed Ankalaev and Volkan Oezdemir.

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