Walker (22-9, 1 NC), the explosive Brazilian striker, survived a particularly hairy opening round before attacking the calves of Zhang (19-7) with a series of hard kicks that dropped him in Round 2. A flurry of punches from Walker followed until referee Marc Goddard stopped the bout at 2:37 inside Shanghai Indoor Stadium.

With the victory, Walker snaps a three-fight winless streak (two losses and one no contest). The victory was his first since he beat Anthony Smith by unanimous decision in May 2023. In defeat, Zhang loses for the first time in the UFC after promotional victories over Brendson Ribeiro, Ozzy Diaz, and Anthony Smith.

While most in North America were fast asleep, Johnny Walker was putting in work. Walker scored a convincing finish in the main event of UFC Shanghai early Saturday morning. MORE: Fabian Edwards with dominating performance as PFL crowns new champions