Johnny Walker reveals he tested positive for COVID-19

UFC light heavyweight Johnny Walker revealed that he tested positive for COVID-19 but is now healthy and excited to get back into the Octagon.

Walker is set to take on fellow light heavyweight prospect Ryan Spann at UFC on ESPN+ 36: Covington vs. Woodley on September 19. But just making it to the fight was an ordeal for Walker, who revealed in an interview with AG Fight that he tested positive for COVID-19 upon his arrival in Ireland for his training camp at SBG under John Kavanagh.

Walker said in the interview that he planned on training at TriStar Gym in Montreal once again, but due to border restrictions in Canada, he was not able to travel there for this training camp. Walker’s girlfriend lives in Ireland and when Walker went to visit her there, he tested positive for COVID-19. He spoke about his experiences with the coronavirus.

“(In Ireland) everyone is respecting (COVID-19) and wears a mask. Everyone takes the test when it comes to training. I had already taken a COVID-19 test when I came to Ireland. I was without quarantine for two weeks. I didn’t know if I have a chance to get it again. But I didn’t feel anything, only the test was positive. I just lost my nose a little, I didn’t smell anything. Then I went back to training. It was very quiet,” Walker said.

Thankfully, Walker was able to get healthy quickly. In fact, he enjoyed his time so much at SBG training under Kavanagh that he plans on moving there to live with his girlfriend.

“Me and my girlfriend want to live together, so (Ireland) would be a nice place. Here there is a good gym and she can work here because she is a teacher. She currently works in Qatar, but there is no good gym there. She will leave her job next year and we will live together here,” Walker said.

Walker is currently on the first two-fight losing skid of his career, having dropped his last two fights to Nikita Krylov and Corey Anderson. Prior to those losses, Walker had won nine straight fights including three straight first-round knockout wins in the Octagon over Misha Cirkunov, Justin Ledet, and Khalil Rountree. The Brazilian is currently the No. 11 ranked light heavyweight in the UFC and will take on No. 12 Spann next weekend in Las Vegas.

Who do you think wins, Johnny Walker or Ryan Spann?