UFC heavyweight contender Johnny Walker says that he’s open to being the backup for the upcoming UFC 334 heavyweight title fight.
UFC heavyweight champion Ciryl Gane puts his belt on the line for the first time next Saturday when he takes on Josh Hokit. But just in case anything happens to either man, Walker says he wants to be the backup for the title fight.
Johnny Walker Wants to Be Backup for UFC 334 Main Event
Speaking to MMAFighting.com the day after knocking out Waldo Cortes-Acosta in the main event of UFC Vegas 124, Walker made it clear he wants to throw his name in the hat for the backup spot at UFC 334 next weekend.
“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 said, noting he would just want the UFC to pay for his flight to New York.
Johnny Walker Looking to Stay Busy at Heavyweight
Walker has fought three times so far in 2026, including a split-decision loss to Dominick Reyes at UFC 327 in April that convinced him to move up to heavyweight. Since then, he has knocked out Mick Parkin at UFC 332 and now Cortes-Acosta at UFC Vegas 124 to immediately become a title contender in the shallow UFC heavyweight division.
Walker wants to stay busy in his new weight class, noting that he wants “one more fight and then (fight for) the belt.”
He says, “If it’s for the title, I’ll do something crazy and fight (next week) anyway, 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.”
There are still several other contenders in the UFC heavyweight division ahead of him, including Alexander Volkov, his teammate at Porrada Training Center in Las Vegas, but Walker’s two knockout wins at heavyweight have made him an immediate UFC heavyweight title contender.
Johnny Walker Open to UFC 334 Backup Spot for Title Fight