With his brother Valter Walker in the corner in Shanghai, Johnny admitted he was “emotional” after his first three-fight winless run in the promotion. Training at Xtreme Couture in Las Vegas gave him confidence, but Walker felt he couldn’t perform at his best after a 14-month layoff.

Charles Johnson (18-7 MMA, 7-5 UFC) had a rough first round against the unbeaten Lone'er Kavanagh (9-1 MMA, 2-1 UFC). But late in the second round, while he was backing up from a Johnson attack, Kavanagh dropped his hands and Johnson drilled him on the button to put his lights out for the first loss of his career.