Valter Walker’s return added to UFC 321 after fight cancellation at UFC Rio | BJPenn.com

UFC heavyweight star Valter Walker didn’t have to wait long for his next Octagon assignment after his fight was scrapped from UFC Rio last weekend.

Valter Walker was hours away from fighting Mohammed Usman on the UFC Rio undercard last Saturday, before Usman pulled out hours beforehand due to injury. Walker was furious at Usman’s withdrawal, as he berated his opponent as he appeared at the official weigh-ins.

Walker has a lot of momentum after three straight first-round heel hook wins, including most recently against Kennedy Nzechukwu in July. Valter is the brother of fellow UFC star Johnny Walker, who is fresh off a win over Zhang Mingyang at UFC Shanghai.

Many wondered how quickly the UFC matchmakers would move to get Walker another fight after the UFC Rio debacle, and whether or not Usman would be his rescheduled opponent. We got an answer this week, as Walker returns on one of the biggest cards of the year.

Valter Walker rebooked for UFC 321 on days’ notice after disappointing fight cancellation

Walker will face UFC debutant Louie Sutherland on the UFC 321 undercard later this month in Abu Dhabi. He confirmed the news of his return to the cage after an initial report from an MMA journalist Laerte Viana.

Sutherland was scheduled to face Justin Tafa last month before withdrawing due to illness. He has won four straight fights prior to his UFC debut, racking up successful stints in LFA and FSC.

Walker has recent wins over Junior Tafa, Don’Tale Mayes and Nzechukwu since dropping his UFC debut to Lukasz Brzeski in April 2024.

UFC 321 is headlined by a UFC heavyweight title fight between Tom Aspinall and Ciryl Gane. The co-main event is a vacant UFC strawweight title fight between Mackenzie Dern and Virna Jandiroba.