Light Heavyweight Contenders Corey Anderson, Johnny Walker to Clash at UFC 244

A matchup of surging light heavyweight contenders is in the works for UFC 244, as Corey Anderson and Johnny Walker have verbally agreed to fight at Madison Square Garden on Nov. 2.

Multiple outlets have confirmed the booking following an initial report from ESPN.com. UFC 244 takes place in New York and is also expected to include a heavyweight showdown pitting Derrick Lewis against Blagoy Ivanov. A headliner for the card has not been revealed.

After a rough stretch from May 2016 to November 2017 in which he lost three of his four Octagon appearances, Anderson has established himself as a person of interest at 205 pounds. Since 2018, “The Ultimate Fighter 19” winner has earned successive decision triumphs against Patrick Cummins, Glover Teixeira and Ilir Latifi to run his overall promotional mark to 9-4.

Walker, meanwhile, has burst upon the scene after earning a UFC contract with a win over Henrique da Silva on the Brazilian version of the Contender Series. Since then, the 27-year-old Brazilian has scored first-round KO/TKO victories over Khalil Rountree, Justin Ledet and Misha Cirkunov in his first three UFC appearances. Walker has won nine fights in a row overall and has finished all but one of his 17 career triumphs inside the distance.