Johnny Walker offers to be UFC 334 backup for Ciryl Gane vs Josh Hokit days after KO win

Johnny Walker wants to be the backup fighter for Ciryl Gane vs Josh Hokit, the heavyweight title fight that headlines UFC 334 at Madison Square Garden in New York on Saturday, November 14. He made the offer one week after he knocked out Waldo Cortes-Acosta. Speaking to MMA Fighting the day after his UFC Vegas 124 win on November 7, the Brazilian said he would take the fight on seven days' notice if either man pulls out.

"If they need someone to step in, I'm here"

"It just showed that I'm ready for anything," Walker told MMA Fighting's Guilherme Cruz. "If someone drops out of the title fight next week or gets injured, they can put me in there too."

The 34-year-old said he came out of the Cortes-Acosta fight without injuries: "If they need someone to step in, I'm here. I didn't get hurt too badly, no. My face is just a little swollen because I ate a lot of punches, right? I got hit a lot and it got swollen, but I didn't suffer any injuries."

Walker lives in Las Vegas and trains at Porrada Training Center. He told MMA Fighting he would fly to New York "if [the UFC] pays for my flight." The UFC has not said whether it has a heavyweight backup lined up for the main event. Joselyne Edwards has already been named the backup for the co-main event, Kayla Harrison vs Amanda Nunes.

Plan B: one more win, then the title

If he does not get the call, Walker wants to fight again in the first quarter of 2027. He wants "one more fight and then [fight for] the belt."

"If it's for the title, I'll do something crazy and fight [next week] anyway," Walker said, "but ideally, I'd fight around February or March. Hokit could be an option, right? If Hokit loses, that would be a wonderful scenario for me, because I could already fight him."

He also gave his view of Hokit: "I think he has good wrestling, but his jiu-jitsu probably isn't that good. And his striking isn't anything crazy either... If he takes me down, I've got plenty of jiu-jitsu. I'd sweep him, I'd catch him on the ground. And if he wants to stand and trade, I'd knock him out too."

Two knockouts since moving up

Walker took the UFC Vegas 124 main event on eight days' notice after Sean Brady vs Gabriel Bonfim was cancelled. He stopped Cortes-Acosta in the third round with a head kick and punches. According to MMA Fighting, that made him the first man to finish Cortes-Acosta in MMA. Sergei Pavlovich, Alexander Volkov and Curtis Blaydes had all beaten Cortes-Acosta, but none of them stopped him.

That was Walker's second straight knockout at heavyweight. In October, he finished Mick Parkin in the first round with a knee at UFC 332. He moved up after a split-decision loss to Dominick Reyes at light heavyweight at UFC 327 in April. The Independent lists his record at 24-10.

Gane makes the first defence of his undisputed title at UFC 334. He knocked out Alex Pereira at UFC White House in June. On the same card, Hokit stopped Derrick Lewis to earn his title shot.

POP MMA will cover any UFC 334 changes and the result on November 14.