Two of the best, young prospects in the UFC’s light heavyweight division have agreed to square off in early 2021.
The UFC has booked a 205-pound contest between Australia’s Jimmy Crute (12-1) and Brazil’s Johnny Walker (18-5) for an unannounced card on March 27, sources told ESPN on Saturday.
The location has yet to be announced.
Crute, 24, was ranked by ESPN as the No. 1 fighter in the world under the age of 25 in 2020. He is coming off a two-minute knockout of Modestas Bukauskas at UFC Fight Night on Oct. 17 in Abu Dhabi. He is 4-1 overall in the UFC, and has recorded a finish in each win, with his only loss coming via submission to Misha Cirkunov.
Walker, 28. signed with the UFC in 2018 and got off to a breakneck start, recording first-round finishes in his first three appearances. He cooled off in late 2019, suffering back-to-back losses to Corey Anderson and Nikita Krylov, but he has since gotten back on track with another first-round knockout of Ryan Spann in September.
Both Crute and Walker are former contestants on Dana White’s Contender Series.