5 best moments from UFC Fight Night: Magomed Ankalaev vs. Johnny Walker 2

The first UFC event of 2024 is in the books, and while it featured a few neat finishes, it’s not likely to be remembered for long.

UFC Fight Night: Magomed Ankalaev vs. Johnny Walker lost its co-headliner at the weigh-in, but despite this, there were a handful of memorable moments on offer.

With this considered, here are the five best moments from UFC Fight Night: Magomed Ankalaev vs. Johnny Walker 2.

#5. Jean Silva debuts in the UFC with a bang

UFC newcomer Jean Silva left fans and fighters alike baffled last night when he took the best part of four minutes to walk to the octagon.

It was an entrance up there with the most baffling in octagon history and had the Brazilian failed to win his bout with Westin Wilson, he likely would’ve been a laughing stock.

However, Silva instead produced a wonderful showing, lighting Wilson up violently before finishing him off with a flurry of punches late in the first round.

The major highlight moment for the newcomer was a counter knee that he threw in response to a takedown attempt, although it would also be fair to say it was probably inches away from being illegal.

Either way, this was a great debut for Silva, who later claimed that his bizarre entrance was due to him “switching to his alter-ego”, which he called ‘Lord Assassin’. Based on this, we can expect to see a lot more of him in 2024.

#4. Marcus McGhee moves to 3-0 in the octagon with another violent finish

While the stacked nature of the UFC's bantamweight division means he’s probably still not going to crack the top fifteen on Monday, Marcus McGhee was definitely one of last night’s most impressive fighters.

‘The Maniac’ extended his UFC record to 3-0 by dispatching Gaston Bolanos, and what’s more, he did it with a violent finish – his third in the octagon to date.

This one took a little longer than his August 2023 knockout of JP Buys, as Bolanos was able to take the action into the second round.

However, ‘The Dreamkiller’ was hurt in the opening round and when McGhee dropped him with a right hand that sent him down face-first in the second, the fight was basically over.

Sure enough, ‘The Maniac’ then swarmed his foe and even landed a flashy spinning wheel kick before referee Mark Smith was forced to step in with Bolanos out on his feet.

Will McGhee get a crack at a ranked foe next time out? It’s possible, and if he does, it’d be hard to say he doesn’t deserve it. Even if he doesn’t, though, it’s fair to say that he scored one of last night’s best moments.

#3. Brunno Ferreira destroys Phil Hawes in a mild upset

The general consensus on the middleweight bout between Brunno Ferreira and Phil Hawes was always that Hawes was more than capable of using his wrestling and athleticism to win, but his chin left him in danger of being KO’d.

Sure enough, ‘The Hulk’ lived up to that promise by taking out Hawes, but he also proved to be the superior fighter in every possible area.

He took ‘No Hype’ down on a couple of occasions, and landed the far cleaner blows throughout. The end, though, came late in the first round.

After hurting Hawes with a flurry, Ferreira dropped him with a savage left hand that crumpled him and then followed with a pair of hammer fists to turn his lights out for good.

This was a big win for Ferreira, who wiped away the bad memories of his knockout loss to Nursulton Ruziboev, and it was enough to earn him a $50k bonus too. Arguably, this was the best knockout of the night.

#2. Jim Miller picks up his 26th UFC win in tremendous fashion

Given that Jim Miller is now 40 years old and has been competing in the UFC since 2008, it’s fair to ask just how much longer he can continue to fight at such a high level.

Judging from his showing last night, though, he’s still got plenty in the tank. Despite the great Cain Velasquez being in the corner of his opponent Gabriel Benitez, Miller was absolutely dominant over the Mexican and even picked up a third-round finish.

The New Jersey native landed the better shots on the feet, chaining together some strong combinations to keep Benitez at bay. And when he took ‘Moggly’ down, he had no issues keeping him there.

After coming close with choke attempts earlier in the fight, the third round finally saw Miller secure a finishing hold. He couldn’t quite lock up a perfect rear naked choke, but the pressure he put on the face and neck of Benitez was enough, and with just over 90 seconds to go, the Mexican tapped.

While Miller’s post-fight call out of Brock Lesnar isn’t likely to happen any time soon, a bout with Paul Felder might well make sense – and if Miller could win that, he’d be on an inexplicable three-fight win streak.

At any rate, in pulling off yet another impressive win, Miller earned a bonus of $50k – and definitely gave everyone one of last night’s best moments.

#1. Magomed Ankalaev shows off his title credentials with a knockout of Johnny Walker

The best moment on last night’s show undoubtedly came in the headline bout, as Magomed Ankalaev produced one of the best showings of his UFC career.

Faced with Johnny Walker, whom he went to a No Contest with in late 2023 following an illegal knee, Ankalaev had plenty of pressure on his shoulders.

However, the Dagestani definitely didn’t show that, as he dispatched Walker with violent ease in the second round after softening him up with some slick low kicks and combinations.

With Walker clearly struggling to get anything going, the end came in the second round. Ankalaev sent him crashing into the fence with a right hook and then smashed his nose with a follow-up shot, forcing referee Marc Goddard to step in.

Interestingly, this was basically a copy of the last time Ankalaev had to rematch a foe, as he dispatched Ion Cutelaba in just as violent fashion in their 2020 re-run.

Will it be enough to net Ankalaev a light-heavyweight title shot? That may depend on the status of Jamahal Hill, but it definitely added fuel to the theory that he is in fact the best 205-pound fighter on the UFC roster right now.