Those who wrote the story of Johnny Walker's demise appear to have been mistaken, as he was able to finish Zhang Mingyang in the main event of UFC Shanghai.
As Mingyang put out a hand for a handshake at the fight's start, Walker attempted to score a takedown, only for Mingyang to easily place him on his back. Mingyang controlled the action on the ground well before tagging Walker on the feet. Walker responded to a wobbling right hand by trying to clinch Mingyang up and take him down. Walker attempted to bring his own power and use angles, but Mingyang landed a sharp elbow and continued to cut off the cage.
The pace continued throughout the second round, with Walker trying to find success with the calf kick. One of them did find that success for him, putting Mingyang in great pain and sending him to the mat. Walker pounded away with strikes, overwhelming Mingyang, who tried but couldn't get back to his feet, resulting in a second-round TKO.
Johnny Walker Stops Zhang Mingyang in UFC Shanghai Main Event
This win snapped a three-fight winless skid for Walker, who had gone to a no-contest and lost against current light heavyweight champ Magomed Ankalev and was knocked out by Volkan Oezdemir.
Mingyang had entered tonight's bout with a 12-fight win streak, with all of his wins coming via a first-round finish. He was 3-0 in the UFC entering tonight with wins over Brendson Ribeiro, Ozzy Diaz, and Anthony Smith.