Jamahal Hill and Johny Walker are set to clash in the main event of UFC Vegas 48. They were supposed to be the co-main event but the original clash was forced off of the card. Now we have two high-level strikers set to clash in a very important light heavyweight contest. It is expected that the winner will be the next big contender at 205, no pressure though.
Jamahal Hill has been a force to be reckoned with ever since he has entered the UFC. The light heavyweight has been knocking just about everyone out and is quickly becoming a fan favorite. Hill is coming off of a huge knockout over Jimmy Crute that saw him bounce back from his first-ever loss. He broke his arm against Paul Craig as the Scottish contender had him trapped in a submission. The referee was forced to step in but Hill showed no signs of wanting out. Hill is a knockout artist and guarantees a fun fight.
Johny Walker is in a strange position in his career as he was expected to become the next great light heavyweight and some even thought he would beat Jon Jones. It seemed like he was well on track until he got knocked out by Corey Anderson in 2019. Since then he’s only won one fight against Ryan Spann. He now trains at SBG Ireland with John Kavanaugh as his head coach. He’ll be looking to bounce back from an underwhelming fight with Thiago Santos in October 2021. He has tremendous athleticism and remains a big knockout threat.
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Here are the UFC Vegas 48 odds, featuring our Johny Walker-Jamahal Hill prediction, courtesy of FanDuel.
UFC Odds: Walker-Hill Odds
Johny Walker (+210)
Jamahal Hill (-255)
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How Jamahal Hill wins the fight at UFC Vegas 48
Jamahal Hill likes to come forward and use his left hand to land power shots. He’ll need to be careful against Johny Walker as the Brazilian has great athleticism and can capitalize very quickly on any mistakes. The first round is going to be very important, both men like to come forward and are very explosive early on. Keeping Walker on the back foot is going to be key for Hill. The last fight against Santos showed the issues of forcing him to fight on the backfoot. The grappling could actually be a key feature in the fight even though both men are strikers.
Hill is comfortable on the ground and could look to utilize it depending on how the fight goes on the fight. His power will force Walker to respect him on the feet. Avoiding defensive mistakes is going to be key for Hill as he can get caught with wild flurries, something he can’t afford to mess with against Walker. Hill’s best path to victory is either force Walker to fight off of the back foot for five rounds or land a big knockout punch, something he’s done many times in the UFC.
How Johny Walker wins the fight at UFC Vegas 48
Johny Walker is in a very strange spot in his UFC career and many people have lost trust in him. Things have been very different since his fight against Corey Anderson. A big shoulder injury suffered while celebrating a knockout win didn’t help things either. Power is always going to be a huge plus for him and his varied attack that includes knees and elbows makes him a problem in the clinch. At 6’6 he has plenty of size and should look to keep Jamahal Hill on the outside. Walker is at his most dangerous in the first two rounds and will be looking to land something big.
Hill’s tendency to keep his hands low will lead to openings. Walker is also working more feints into his game which should lead to more openings. A decision win over five rounds is not very likely. Walker’s path to victory is landing something big and capitalizing on an opening. Walker’s best path to victory is a knockout.
Final Walker-Hill Prediction & Pick
This fight has the potential to be a very exciting and short affair or a messy five-round bout between two men that trained for three rounds. Both have big power, explosivity, and killer instincts. Johny Walker is very dangerous in the clinch and could land some devastating strikes. Jamahal Hill has a big left hand and knows when to pressure. The first two rounds are going to be very important and someone is going to sleep. A decision could always happen but there’s a reason these two are matched up against each other.
The fighter that lands the first big punch will control the fight and have the most likely path to victory. The biggest thing to look for is whether the two respect each other’s power so much they fail to engage or truth in their power enough that they go knockout hunting. Anything can happen between two knockout artists and that’s why picking a winner can be so difficult. Walker has lost the trust of many people after some lackluster outings, whilst Hill has quickly been picking up steam with huge knockouts over Jimmy Crute and Ovince Saint Preux. The most likely pick is Jamahal Hill by knockout in the second round.
Final Walker-Hill Prediction & Pick: Jamahal Hill wins by second-round knockout.
