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Controversy reared its ugly head in multiple ways at UFC 294, with one of those instances involving a no contest during a main card fight between Johnny Walker and Magomed Ankalaev after Ankalaev delivered an illegal knee strike to the head of a downed Walker.
Walker, despite eating the illegal strike, says that he wanted to continue fighting at UFC 294, despite the call made by the doctors.
“He asked me if I wanted to continue fighting,” Walker said on The MMA Hour. “I said, ‘Yes.’ He said, ‘Where are you?’ I didn’t want to say the wrong answer because I was excited when he was doing the test and I wanted to say the right answer. I thought to say Abu Dhabi … and then I said, ‘Fine, I’m in the f****** desert, bro. I’m here. I’m good. … I’m in the desert. I’m in the Middle East.’
“I can speak good English. The doctor wasn’t in his native language and had a heavy accent as well, I understand what he said. I tried to explain and give the right answer to him, but in the middle of the situation, maybe I fight for the title shot and everything, my mind is going a thousand miles an hour. I received the shot in my face and I was OK to fight. Even my last fight against Anthony Smith, he said I attacked his family, I had no idea what he was talking about. ‘You attacked my family.’ ‘What?’ I didn’t understand. It’s the same situation. It’s very complicated because you go a thousand miles an hour, you’re fighting for your life and your career, hopefully get a title shot after, and everything’s over, it’s very disappointing.”
UFC President Dana White called the doctor “inexperienced” for the multiple controversial decisions that the doctor made at the event
The fighter also wishes that the doctor would’ve gave him more time to recover prior to calling off the fight.
“They didn’t give me time to calm down, to recover,” Walker said. “If I had gotten kicked in the balls, I have five minutes to recover. I’m kneed in the face, I have nothing to recover. An illegal knee in the face? It’s more disappointing because the same thing happened with Aljamain and he became a champ after a knee like that.
“I don’t want to become champion [like that], but maybe take points off of him and the fight continues, or maybe disqualify him or whatever. It’s an illegal shot. He could put me out with a very illegal shot. I could have damage in my brain. Before, I gave him a legal and intentional knee on the middle, I came in with the flying knee and I missed. But on the floor, you know the rules. It’s a very dirty move. I’m upset.”
