Unlocking Potential

It all boils down to fitness for Valter Walker.

The 6-foot-6 Brazilian will look to keep his head above water in the Ultimate Fighting Championship heavyweight division when he confronts Don’Tale Mayes in a three-round UFC Fight Night 251 prelim on Saturday at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas. Walker has won 12 of his 13 bouts as a pro. He rebounded from his first career setback—a unanimous decision loss to Lukasz Brzeski—in August, when he put away Junior Tafa with a heel hook in the first round of their UFC 305 pairing.

“Actually, there were no big changes,” Walker told Sherdog.com. “It was just about losing weight. I felt very heavy in my first UFC fight. I weighed [273 pounds] on the day of the fight. I felt very slow and heavy. I got tired quickly, and I saw that I needed to lose weight. I went down [22 pounds]. When I fought Tafa, I felt much faster, with more gas. The change was just that: nutrition.”

Walker, 27, operates out of the Gor MMA camp in Moscow, thousands of miles from where he was born and raised. There, he has entrusted his development to Gor Azizyan. Walker trains regularly with a number of top-shelf stablemates, current UFC heavyweight contender Sergei Pavlovich chief among them.

“There are always high-level fighters joining us,” Walker said, “so we don’t need to go to another gym.”

The monstrous Mayes now stands in his way. “Lord Kong” has never quite reached the heights many expected, but he remains a formidable opponent. Mayes has alternated wins and losses in each of his past five outings and last competed at UFC on ABC 7, where he dropped a unanimous decision to Shamil Gaziev on Aug. 3.

“He’s a veteran, [and] he’s been in the UFC for a long time,” Walker said. “He’s big. I’ve seen him personally. He’s really big, but I’m not small, either. He’s heavier, but that makes him slower and he gets tired really fast. In the first three minutes, he’s very dangerous. After that, he gets really slow. He’s strong in those three minutes. I may be in danger for the first three minutes. After that, he’ll be in a world of agony. Once we’re past three minutes, I win. I’ll impose my game. That’s it.”

In Mayes, Walker sees opportunity.

“He’s in the Top 15,” he said. “If I win this fight, I’m going to be ranked. It will be an honor for me. Whoever is ranked above me should be working on their wrestling and takedown defense because I’m coming at full force. My plan is always the next fight. I only know what will happen after the next fight. I’m focused on this fight. After the fight, winning or losing will determine my next steps.”