UFC Shanghai: Johnny Walker vs Zhang Mingyang – Explosive knockout artists collide in China

Fresh off a spectacular night at UFC 319 in Chicago, the UFC heads east to Shanghai, China for a UFC Fight Night event that offers the possibility of serious moves in three different weight classes.

In the main event, light heavyweights Johnny Walker and Zhang Mingyang will face off in a bid to gatecrash the championship picture at 205 pounds while, at featherweight, former title challenger Brian Ortega takes on former undisputed bantamweight champion Aljamain Sterling in an important matchup in the 145-pound division.

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Also set for action on fight night is a clash between the number-three-ranked heavyweight contender Sergei Pavlovich and rising contender Waldo Cortes Acosta.

And with a host of exciting fighters set to feature throughout the fight card, and an early-morning start for UK viewers, it’s the perfect way to kick off your sporting weekend. Here’s our breakdown of the main event.

Tale of the tape: Johnny Walker vs Zhang Mingyang

Johnny Walker: Can Brazilian entertainer regain top form?

The best way to describe Johnny Walker’s UFC career would be to call it a rollercoaster. It seems the Brazilian is rarely in a boring fight and, regardless of the outcome, there always seems to be something of note that happens when he fights.

Unfortunately for Walker, it’s been more bad than good over the last few appearances, and he finds himself on a three-fight winless streak heading into this weekend’s main event in China. A bout with Magomed Ankalaev ended controversially in the first round and was ruled a no contest back in October 2023, with the rematch booked three months later the following January. That bout ended in a second-round knockout defeat as Ankalaev embarked on a charge that would result in him eventually capturing the undisputed light heavyweight title.

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Walker returned in June 2024 against fellow fringe contender, and another former title challenger, in Volkan Oezdemir. And, once again, Walker ended up on the wrong end of a knockout finish as the hard-hitting Swiss contender connected big in the first round to send Walker to his sixth career knockout loss.

With his last victory – a decision win over former title challenger Anthony Smith back in May 2023 – looking a long time ago, Walker desperately needs to get back to winning ways as he bids to re-establish himself as a legitimate threat at 205 pounds. 

Zhang Mingyang: Can Chinese contender make it 13 in a row?

China’s “Mountain Tiger” Zhang Mingyang blasted his way into the UFC via the promotions’ Asian talent-finding show, Road to UFC, where he demolished Florida-based English light heavyweight Tuco Tokkos inside a round back in the summer of 2022.

Since then, it’s been knockouts all the way for Zhang, as he has reeled off a hat-trick of first-round knockouts to announce his arrival as one of the most dangerous new contenders in the light heavyweight division.

Brazil’s Brendson Ribeiro was dispatched in 101 seconds on Zhang’s UFC debut at UFC 298 in February 2024, and the Chinese knockout artist returned the following November to flatten Ozzy Diaz in less than half a round at UFC Macau.

That victory convinced the UFC’s matchmakers that Zhang was ready for a step up in class, and he was matched with gritty former title challenger Anthony “Lionheart” Smith at UFC Kansas City in April this year. His ground and pound finish of Smith in just four minutes, three seconds proved that Zhang is a force to be reckoned with at 205 pounds.

Now he’s been matched with a fellow striker – and one who has legitimate knockout power, like himself. Will Zhang’s chin get tested for the first time in the Octagon, or will the “Mountain Tiger” run through another opponent in devastating fashion?

Johnny Walker vs Zhang Mingyang: The key factors

When you get two big men with knockout power going head to head in the Octagon, it can sometimes be as simple a case of trying to predict whose chin will get hit first. But in this case, it’s not quite as straightforward as that.

That certainly applies in one direction. Zhang has proved to be a devastating striker, and he’s wasted no time in finding his opponent’s chins early. And with Walker having six knockout losses to his name, including two in his last two fights, he simply cannot afford to get clipped by the powerful Zhang.

Walker, meanwhile, certainly has plenty of knockout power himself. But given the aggression of his opponent, he’ll have to be a little smarter, and work off the counter much more than he would normally. Standing at six-foot-six, Walker is used to being the imposing figure in the cage, but despite holding a three-inch height advantage, he’s likely to be pushed back by his opponent on Saturday.

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The two biggest weapons in Walker’s arsenal are his reach, and his unpredictability. With a whopping 82.3-inch wingspan, Walker has one of the longest reaches in the UFC, and he needs to put that to good use. Typically, we don’t see him deploying the jab too often, but against an aggressive, forward-thinking opponent like Zhang, a good, consistent jab may prove crucial in keeping the Chinese contender just out of range.

If he can establish that range, then Walker can lean on his unpredictability and start to throw the crazy, wild strikes that have seen him pick up 16 knockout wins during his career. But it all hinges on him keeping Zhang on the outside.

If Zhang gets in the pocket, things could get very bad for Walker, whose chin has been cracked several times in his UFC career. And with Zhang looking like one of the bigger power-punchers in the division, that could spell disaster for the Brazilian.

FIRST’s top tip for Johnny Walker vs Zhang Mingyang

Given the above, it’s impossible to go against Zhang Mingyang here. He’s on home soil, he’s in top form, and he’s putting opponents away in swift, decisive fashion. Only a disciplined, tactically-smart performance from Walker can upset the form book, and looking back through the Brazilian’s career, discipline and tactical smarts aren’t something he’s been known for.

There’s always the chance Walker can produce something spectacular out of nothing, but Zhang looks like China’s next next chance for a UFC champion to follow in the footsteps of his namesake, women’s strawweight champion Zhang Weili.

At the time of writing, only the basic win odds were available with the bookies, with Zhang a 3/10 favourite with 10bet. Ideally we want better value than that, and taking Zhang to win by knockout is the best route to a half-decent return, so you could hold fire and wait for those “Method of Victory” markets to appear later this week, then grab the best price available. 

PICK: ZHANG MINGYANG TO WIN (3/10)

Extra tips

Two names to watch out for on this card are English flyweight Lone’er Kavanagh and Russian heavyweight Sergey Pavlovich. Both are odds-on favourites to get the job done against decent opposition this weekend. Kavanagh is a spectacular striker who has the ability to become a star. If he can get past the seasoned Charles “Inner G” Johnson, big things could be around the corner.

As for Pavlovich, he remains one of the hardest hitters in the UFC heavyweight division, but Tom Aspinall’s 69-demolition of the Russian heavyweight showed that Pavlovich is fallible. However, his opponent Waldo Cortes-Acosta has claimed stoppage wins in only two of his eight UFC fights to date, suggesting that Pavlovich can plant his feet and throw with confidence against a fighter who has tended to grind out his wins by decision.

A little double featuring Kavanagh to win (at 11/25 with BetMGM) and Pavlovich to win by KO/TKO (odds TBC) could offer some nice mid-card value.

PICK: DOUBLE (LONE’ER KAVANAGH TO WIN + SERGEY PAVLOVICH TO WIN BY KO/TKO)

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