Conor McGregor and Khabib Nurmagomedov have been long-standing rivals now. Interestingly, this time, it seems like the ‘Eagle’ has taken another victory over the ‘Notorious.’ Per images and clips circulating online, an old teammate of McGregor, Johnny Walker, may have joined hands with the Eagle.
Johnny Walker trained at Conor McGregor’s camp under the guidance of Straight Blast Gym‘s head coach, John Kavanagh. The Brazilian fighter joined the SBG Ireland team in 2020 when he had a record of 4-2 in the UFC. In his first fight since joining the camp, Walker comfortably thrashed Ryan Spann via TKO.
However, the Brazilian fighter had a rough patch at the promotion following that. Walker won only three out of his next eight fights representing SBG Ireland. He was scheduled to face several top light heavyweights, including Jamahal Hill and Magomed Ankalaev. However, Walker failed to capitalize on those opportunities.
Although McGregor once had immense success representing SBG Ireland, the Irishman is not in great form now. In the case of Khabib Nurmagomedov’s AKA Gym, it has produced several championship-level fighters. UFC lightweight champion Islam Makhachev and undefeated UFC bantamweight Umar Nurmagomedov are two prominent names.
The reason for Walker’s switch to train with the Eagle is not known. However, the Brazilian is not the first fighter to do that. Even current UFC welterweight champion Belal Muhammad trained with Nurmagomedov ahead of his fight in UFC 304. Now, why is everyone so moved by the former Dagestani champion’s coaching style?
Is training under Khabib Nurmagomedov the right decision for Johnny Walker?
Johnny Walker had a rough patch in the UFC light heavyweight division. Following that, the Brazilian is currently eyeing a move to the UFC heavyweight division, a division filled with excellent strikers. Interestingly, Walker is not known to have a strong chin and has a history of getting knocked out.
Johnny Walker and Coach Khabib Nurmagomedov (Image via X)However, Nurmagomedov and AKA gym mostly focus on grappling. Well, in the case of SBG Ireland, Kavanagh and his team are not known to produce grapplers. As Walker is adamant about moving to heavyweight, grappling in his repertoire might come in handy. Jairzinho Rozenstruik, Derrick Lewis, and Tai Tuisava possess immense knockout power but do not have strong grappling skills.
Therefore, the best path to win is the safest path – use grappling against a heavyweight division that lacks serious ground. Johnny Walker has also wished to take on a top 15-ranked heavyweight fighter. Now, it remains to be seen how these training sessions with the Eagle help the Brazilian against some of the vicious heavyweight strikers.
