MMAOB staff writer Adam Martin takes a deeper look at the main event of UFC Vegas 48, a five-round light heavyweight bout between Jamahal Hill and Johnny Walker. The event takes place on Saturday, February 19 at UFC Apex in Las Vegas, Nevada.
Jamahal Hill (-250)
Hill (9-1, 1 NC) is the No. 12 ranked light heavyweight in the UFC. The 30-year-old American is 3-1, 1 NC in the UFC with two of his wins coming by knockout. His UFC wins have come over Jimmy Crute, Ovince Saint Preux, and Darko Stosic, with a loss against Paul Craig and a No Contest with Klidson Abreu. Hill has shown himself to be a highly-technical striker with big knockout power throughout his UFC run. He has also shown solid defensive grappling save for the fight with Craig, where he got washed. It does appear that Hill has a hole on the ground that a superior grappler such as Curtis Blaydes could exploit. But as far as his striking goes, Hill has some of the best striking in the division and he has massive knockout power. There is a reason why he is a big favorite to beat Walker in this fight, and that’s because he has looked great in the Octagon and has earned this favorite status.
Johnny Walker (+200)
Walker (18-6) is the No. 10 ranked light heavyweight in the UFC. The 29-year-old Brazilian has been in the UFC since 2018 and so far he has racked up a 4-3 record. All four of his wins have come by knockout, including wins over Misha Cirkunov, Ryan Spann, Justin Ledet, and Khalil Rountree Jr., with his losses coming against Thiago Santos, Nikita Krylov, and Corey Anderson. When Walker started off his UFC career, he was knocking out everyone standing in his path. Then he ran into a roadblock in the Anderson fight and he simply has not recovered since then, going 1-3 since then with his only win in that stretch coming via controversial fashion over Spann. Walker still has big power but he just isn’t as aggressive as he used to be and the move to SBG Ireland has not panned out for him. Walker always has a puncher’s chance, but he is the clear underdog against Hill.
Fight Breakdown: This should be an exciting fight for as long as it lasts, which I doubt will be long given how much knockout power both men have. Walker has scored some amazing knockouts throughout his UFC career, but he has also shown some massive holes defensively and his chin hasn’t held up the greatest, either. Hill, on the other hand, has shown to be a technician on the feet, and one who possesses massive knockout power, to book. Overall, this looks like it’s going to be a standup fight, and it will likely come down to who is the cleaner and faster striker, which I believe is Hill. I see Hill catching Walker on the chin early in the fight and putting him away. The line is high but he should absolutely win this fight, and given Walker’s decline, I expect Hill to knock him out.
Prediction: Jamahal Hill
