With his brother Valter Walker in the corner in Shanghai, Johnny admitted he was “emotional” after his first three-fight winless run in the promotion. Training at Xtreme Couture in Las Vegas gave him confidence, but Walker felt he couldn’t perform at his best after a 14-month layoff.

For all of the hype surrounding first-round knockout artist and Chinese light heavyweight prospect Zhang Mingyang, all it took was a second-round rally from the always unpredictable Johnny Walker to provide a heat check during Saturday's UFC Fight Night main event in Shanghai.

Johnny Walker ended a skid of two straight knockout losses by scoring a shocking knockout of his own in a comeback win against Chinese light heavyweight Zhang Mingyang in the main event of UFC Fight Night in Shanghai.