Preview: UFC Nashville Prelims

Heavyweights

Kennedy Nzechukwu (14-5, 8-5 UFC) vs. Valter Walker (13-1, 2-1 UFC)

ODDS: Nzechukwu (-210); Walker (+150)

The Nzechukwu heavyweight experiment will face its toughest test to date when “The American Savage” finally squares off against someone his own size. The titanic Nigerian-American moved up from light heavyweight last year and has gone 2-0 since, but that success must be qualified by the opposition: Cruiserweight tweener Lukasz Brzeski and 5-foot-9 sideshow attraction Chris Barnett, in addition to being smaller than most of Nzechukwu’s light heavyweight foes, were two of the lowest-level heavyweights on the roster. That is all in the past, now that Nzechukwu is set to face a massive man with some skills. Those same things could be said about Nzechukwu himself. At 6-foot-5 with long legs and an enormous wingspan, the Fortis MMA export was a walking mismatch at 205 pounds and figures to continue to be one as a 240-pound heavyweight. At his best, Nzechukwu puts his long frame to good use, throwing a skull-rattling jab and devastating kicks to the head and body, then switching to brutally effective knees up the middle when his opponent closes the distance. He employs classic tall-man defense against foes who try to take him down, either threatening with a front headlock in space or wide-legging against the fence and throwing elbows.

In terms of offensive tools and firepower, Nzechukwu is a Top 15 talent at light heavyweight or heavyweight; the problem has always been lapses in focus, either against foes who wait for defensive openings and nail him, like Dustin Jacoby, or who grind him down to the point of boredom and frustration, as Ovince St. Preux did.

Whatever else may be said, Walker is not likely to bore Nzechukwu. The younger brother of noted light heavyweight maniac Johnny Walker, “The Clean Monster” is even larger, nearly as athletic, and at this point in their respective development, more of a wild man. Walker’s ultra-aggressive blitzes on the feet are reminiscent of his older brother’s early UFC run; he never met a spinning or flying strike he didn’t like, and his back-to-back heel hooks of Junior Tafa and Don'Tale Mayes are like a fever dream straight out of 2004.

Despite his go-for-broke style and enormous frame, cardio has not been a particular issue for Walker thus far, and while his last two fights both ended in the first round, nearly half of his pre-UFC bouts went at least into Round 2. Interestingly for a man who throws techniques like a kid mashing video game buttons, Walker is more likely to run out of ideas than gas if his opponent doesn’t go away, as was the case in his loss to Brzeski, and if he tries something like heel-hooking Nzechukwu, it’s going to end with hammerfists for dinner and smelling salts for dessert.

This fight, featuring two men with potent offensive arsenals and glaring deficiencies in defense and fight IQ, is a tough one to pick. The betting line reflects the fact that Nzechukwu, defensive lapses and all, has faced and beaten much tougher opposition than Walker has. Either man could end this thing spectacularly within 90 seconds, but if that doesn’t happen, Nzechukwu has the experience and tutelage to dip into a deeper bag of tricks and come up with a viable backup plan. The pick is Nzechukwu by TKO in the second round, or maybe even late in the first.



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