Johnny Walker finds himself at a crossroads ahead of UFC Shanghai. The 33-year-old Brazilian is winless in his last three, riding a two-fight skid with one no-contest, and knows that another setback could put his UFC future in jeopardy. Meanwhile, his opponent is no simple assignment. Zhang Mingyang has burst onto the scene with three straight UFC victories, cracking the light heavyweight top 15 in the process.

Now, aiming for a spot in the top 10, the undefeated Chinese contender will look to add Johnny Walker’s name to his growing résumé. In response, the Brazilian has embraced change — seemingly inspired by newly crowned middleweight king Khamzat Chimaev . At UFC 319 in Chicago last week, ‘Borz’ silenced doubts about his cardio by grinding out a dominant victory over Dricus Du Ples

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