UFC Vegas 48 Clash: Walker Vs. Hill!

Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) Light Heavyweight sluggers Johnny Walker and Jamahal Hill will clash TONIGHT (Sat., Feb. 19, 2022) at UFC Vegas 48 inside UFC Apex in Las Vegas, Nevada.

After scoring three consecutive and flashy knockouts to begin his UFC career, Walker has run into a serious rough patch, losing three of his last four bouts. This struggle has caused Walker to seek reinvention, changing up his strategy for a more cautious, hopefully safer approach. Just 29 years of age, there’s still hope that Walker can figure out his style and capitalize on his considerable potential. Hill, meanwhile, is in the midst of his own fast rise. A clear physical talent, Hill’s last three wins inside the Octagon (if we discount a drug test failure for marijuana) came via knockout. Prior to those wins, Hill wasn’t really known as a knockout artist, but he’s proven quite dangerous as of late.

Let’s take a closer look at the keys to victory for each man:

Johnny Walker

Record: 18-6
Key Wins: Misha Cirkunov (UFC 235), Ryan Spann (UFC Vegas 11), Khalil Rountree Jr (UFC Fight Night 140), Justin Ledet (UFC Fight Night 144)
Key Losses: Corey Anderson (UFC 244), Nikita Krylov (UFC Fight Night 170), Thiago Santos (UFC Vegas 38)
Keys to Victory: Walker is a seriously dangerous Light Heavyweight. Tall and long for the division, Walker is quite explosive and unpredictable, having won fights via jumping knee and spinning backfist inside the Octagon. All in all, the Brazilian has stopped 15 opponents via knockout.

Last time out, Walker attempted to reinvent himself from wild man to range technician, and the result was a rather muted offense. Walker didn’t commit to much beyond kicks and check hooks, which is a far less scary prospect for his opponent than a complete enigma as likely to jab as spin.

There is a middle ground here. Walker doesn’t want to be reckless — that’s what got him knocked out — but he also cannot neuter himself. Instead, Walker has to temper his aggression and flashiness with safer, active range work in the periods between explosion.

Against Hill in particular, Walker is the superior kicker. He can afford to hang back a bit, digging into Hill’s calf and mid-section with long distance kicks. His opportunities to do something major will come when Hill tries to push forward in a big burst or counter a kick.

This time, Walker has to take the risk and try to capitalize on such moments.

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Jamahal Hill

Record: 9-1 (1)
Key Wins: Jimmy Crute (UFC Vegas 44), Ovince Saint Preux (UFC Vegas 16), Darko Stosic (UFC Fight Night 166)
Key Losses: Paul Craig (UFC 263)
Keys to Victory: Hill is a Southpaw with great natural power, toughness, and fundamental striking skill. Thus far, he’s largely been able to force opponents into stand up battles, and he’s shown a real gift for putting men on the canvas.

Hill may not be as proven a kicker as Walker, but at least he can match his physical size much better than most. As such, there’s no need for Hill to lunge forward and take huge chances in order to land. Instead, patient pressure will result in fist-to-chin connections.

While watching tape on “Sweet Dreams,” his commitment to countering kicks impressed me, and that will be huge here. More often than not, when Walker is hurt by strikes, it happens after an opponent parries a kick and cracks him on the jaw. Hill has to be wary of the spin, but countering kicks with crosses and overhands definitely seems a likely avenue towards the knockout.

Otherwise, Hill is generally more comfortable in longer exchanges. While stalking Walker, Hill should be looking to cut off the cage and force his opponent in the pocket. Walker’s power has to be respected, but even so, Hill is likely leading the dance if the trades go beyond a couple punches.

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Bottom Line

A spot inside the Top 10 is on the line.

Walker is defending his position as No. 10, looking to return to the win column and score another opportunity to fight up the rankings. From a more big picture perspective, Walker is trying to prove that he’s still a title threat. It wasn’t all that long ago that fans were getting excited at the idea of Walker vs. Jon Jones, but now the idea of Walker challenging for the belt seems extremely far off.

Walker has to fix the holes in his game and get that momentum back.

Meanwhile, Hill’s only misstep was that armbar/triangle/strikes loss to Paul Craig, and the Scottish submission ace is a weird trap fight for young fighters, so it’s fairly excusable. Outside of that loss, Hill has shown nothing but promise, a powerful and fundamentally sound game that seems likely to carry him far. Victory here advances Hill into the Top 10, setting him up for even bigger opportunities next.

At UFC Vegas 48, Johnny Walker and Jamahal Hill will throw down in the main event. Which man will have his hand raised?

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Remember that MMAmania.com will deliver LIVE round-by-round, blow-by-blow coverage of the entire UFC Vegas 48 fight card right here, starting with the ESPN+ “Prelims” matches, which are scheduled to begin at 4 p.m. ET, then the remaining main card balance (also on ESPN+) at 7 p.m. ET.

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