Anthony Smith vs Johnny Walker: UFC Fight Night Odds, Prediction

Edgar Chaput
May 11, 2023

Anthony Smith will look to find his winning ways again, having not earned a victory since September 2021 at UFC Fight Night 192. As for the Brazilian Walker, he enters the octagon this Saturday riding a two-match winning run.

Not much separates these contestants on the MMA odds. Walker is pinned at -120, whereas Smith is a solid -110. This is a toss-up, folks.

Johnny Walker -155
Anthony Smith +115

Anthony Smith UFC Fight Night Odds

The 34-year-old hailing from Ohama, Nebraska has been on hiatus since July last year. Not that he intentionally planned it that way. There was a match scheduled between him and Jamahal Hill at UFC Fight Night 221 this past March, but the latter was rebooked for another event and therefore had to pull out.

Previous to that, Smith’s last taste of success was all the way back in September 2021 at UFC Fight Night 192 when Ryan Spann challenged him. The one they call “Lionheart” picked up the victory thanks to a rear-naked choked in the initial round. Furthermore, the match was awarded Performance of the Night honours. That said, his subsequent fight was not as successful, as Magomed Ankalaev defeated him via TKO in the second round at UFC 277 last summer.

The American is very experienced, what with his commendable 36-17 win-loss tally. It should be noted that neither his arm nor leg reaches quite match that of Walker (76 inches to 82 for the arm and 44 inches to 44.5 for the legs). Both fighters are similar insofar as they rarely depend on judges’ decisions to get a win. Smith KO/TKO’s his opponents 53 per cent of the time and pins them into submission a solid 39 per cent, with the balance coming via decisions. Evidently, he knows how to take a good licking. For someone with as good a record as his, he only lands 2.99 significant strikes per 60 seconds and absorbs a decent 4.37. His takedown defence isn’t up to par with his opposite number, though – 48 per cent to 58 per cent for the Brazilian.

Johnny Walker UFC Fight Night Odds

Johnny Walker was last seen in the octagon at UFC 283 when he went toe-to-toe with Paul Graig. The bout didn’t last very long, as the Rio de Janeiro native took the match in the first round via TKO.

His last defeat came some time ago, in February 2022 at UFC Fight Night 2021 versus Jamahal Hill. That night the U.S. fighter earned the spoils with a KO in round 1. Thankfully, Walker picked himself up and made good on his next opportunity. That was at UFC 279 last September against Ion Cutelaba. Not only did a rear-naked choke submission give him the win, but the contest was also deemed Performance of the Night worthy.

If Anthony Smith’s KO/TKO winning percentage is impressive, consider that Walker vanquishes his opponents that way an incredible 84 per cent of the time. The remaining 16 per cent are split between submissions (11) and decisions (5). It’s ironic that a submission would give him Performance of the Night salutations, therefore. Of the two fighters involved here, Walker is definitely more efficient with hits. He lands 3.38 significant strikes per minute and only suffers 2.6. Each contestant’s defence is 42 per cent, interestingly. Walker is also much quicker to finish tilts, with an average length of 6:35 to Smith’s 9:27.