feature-image
feature-image

UFC 294 was certainly an eventful pay-per-view, especially with Johnny Walker‘s no-contest match. Johnny Walker went up against Magomed Ankalaev and the first round was going on with high spirits on both sides. However, that’s just about as far as the match would ever go.

Watch What’s Trending Now!

Before the clock hit its five-minute mark, a struggle ensued between Walker and Ankalaev. The two were pressed up against the cage and then Ankalaev would land an illegal blow on Walker. Thankfully, the fighter was still on his feet after that. However, the damage was done. Now, Team Conor McGregor‘s coach has reacted to the move and the no-contest that followed.

ADVERTISEMENT

Coach John Kavanagh reacts to illegal blow against Johnny Walker

At the 3:13 mark in the match, Ankalaev hit Walker in his face with a knee while the latter was down. This is an illegal move and the referee immediately recognized the problem. He separated the two, and a cooldown was called for the match. Soon, the official doctor came running in.

After a short conversation with Walker, the doctor told the referee that the fighter was unfit to keep on fighting. A cut right above his head showed where he had been hit with the knee. The match then resulted in a no-contest. Both the fighters were still raring to go at it, but it was too late. Reacting to Ankalaev’s move, Coach Kavanagh had some pretty harsh words on X.

ADVERTISEMENT

ADVERTISEMENT

“Unintentional foul? Wtf he intend to do? Just be honest and say you don’t have the balls to enforce the rules? If there’s no rules, just let us know. We can prepare for that. No.1 bullshit,” he posted.

McGregor’s coach called Ankalaev out for knowing exactly what he was doing. To keep things clear and away from controversy, the illegal move was regarded as unintentional as is the case many times. However, Kavanagh was sure that it was incredibly intentional on Ankalaev’s side.

ADVERTISEMENT

What happened inside the Octagon after the blow?

The fighters were still high on adrenaline and would try to fight each other in spite of the match being called off. Security guards soon rushed in, trying to keep them away from one another. It got bad enough for even Dana White to get in there to talk Johnny Walker down. Later, White appeared in a press conference to tell everyone what went down inside the ring when the doctor spoke with Walker.

Read More: Dana White Rushes to the Octagon as Johnny Walker Shoves Referee After Illegal Move Forces No Contest Against Magomed Ankalaev at UFC 294

ADVERTISEMENT

“His response was I’m in the desert,” said White about Walker’s response when the doctor asked him where he was. Clearly, the fighter had suffered a head blow bad enough to make him switch locations. However, did Kavanagh make a good point about the strike being intentional? Let us know your thoughts in the comments.

Watch This Story: Conor McGregor Sends Boxer Connor Coghill, Who Suffered From Brain Bleed, A Message 

ADVERTISEMENT

Share this with a friend:

Link Copied!

ADVERTISEMENT

ADVERTISEMENT

Written by

author-image

Prit Chauhan

928 Articles

Prit Chauhan is a UFC writer at EssentiallySports. His portfolio shows him as the go-to event coverage writer at ES and his work on UFC 297 is proof of the same. As an experienced writer and a longtime MMA fan, Prit’s strong suit lies in telling the relatively unknown and more personal stories of fights and fighters. He is also a huge fan of Muay Thai phenom Rodtang Jitmuangnon, and covers ONE Championship-related news as well. When not on his laptop covering his favorite sport, you’ll find Prit in some cozy cafe with his guitar jamming with his friends. A psychologist by vocational training, you’ll find his take on the behind-the-scenes drama quite intriguing. For more, you can reach out to him at-

Know more

Edited by

editor-image

Vishav

ADVERTISEMENT