Johnny Walker vs. Zhang Mingyang Set For UFC Fight Night 257

A light-heavyweight fight between Johnny Walker and Zhang Mingyang has been unveiled as the headliner for UFC Fight Night 257 in Shanghai, China on August 23rd.

The 33-year-old Walker comes into this fight under pressure after having suffered back-to-back KO losses in his two Octagon appearances last year, having been KO’d midway through the second round of a clash with Magomed Ankalaev, followed by a first round knockout loss to Volkan Oezdemir.

Over a year removed from that last defeat Walker now goes up against the 26-year-old Mingyang, who arrived in the UFC via a knockout win on the Road To UFC series back in 2022.

An injury then kept him out for a year, but in 2024 he picked up where he’d left off by clocking up 1st round finishes of Brendson Ribeiro (KO) and Ozzy Diaz (TKO), and then started this year with another opening round TKO finish of Anthony Smith.

Walker vs. Mingyang will headline an event that sees the UFC return to Shanghai for the first time since Michael Bisping vs. Kelvin Gastelum in 2017, and will also include a co-main event pairing of Brian Ortega vs. Aljamain Sterling, while Sergei Pavlovich vs. Waldo Cortes-Acosta has also been confirmed for the show.