UFC Vegas 109: Julius Walker sees bright future after first UFC win
UFC on ESPN 72 winner Julius Walker talks to MMA Junkie and other reporters post-fight after his unanimous decision victory over Rafael Cerqueira.
LAS VEGAS – Julius Walker met the media Saturday after his win over Rafael Cerqueira at UFC on ESPN 72.
Walker (7-1 MMA, 1-1 UFC) outworked Cerqueira (11-3 MMA, 0-3 UFC) for a unanimous decision to close out the prelims at the UFC Apex. It was his first win in the promotion after a split decision loss to Alonzo Menifield in his promotional debut earlier this year.
That loss was his first as a pro, but it came with a silver lining in the form of a $50,000 Fight of the Night bonus. Saturday, despite the win this time, Walker said he wasn’t thrilled with the performance overall and found things to work on before his next fight.
“I was able to get some good training in this camp, and we’re only going to continue to step that up,” Walker told MMA Junkie at his post-fight news conference. “… We were on the bottom rung, and now maybe I’m one rung from the bottom. I’ve got to improve and level up.”
But one area he thinks his game is locked in tight is his walkout song choice. At UFC on ESPN 72, he walked out to “Dancing Queen” by ABBA, which is a top-shelfer when it comes to songs that are decidedly not “tough.” It’s not what you’d expect a 6-foot-4 light heavyweight to walk out to, though.
But there is method to Walker’s madness, and he seems to appreciate the finer intricacies of the fight game – like walkout music.
“I walked out to that in my debut and one or two of my regional fights. My last four fights now, I’ve wlaked out to ABBA songs. I walked out to ‘Take a Chance on Me’ for my last regional fight. It was actually a message to the UFC: ‘take a chance on me,’ and it worked.
“I’ve been doing ‘Dancing Queen’ because here’s the thing: At the end of the day, the walkout song is really for the crowd. Nobody wants to hear these tough-guy, gangster rap – nobody wants to hear that. (The fans) are trying to have a good time. Everybody’s up there drinking, trying to have some fun. You’ve got to play a song like ‘Dancing Queen’ so you can get some jiving going and get the crowd having a good time. So we’re probably going to stick with ABBA songs.”
Check out Walker’s post-fight news conference in the video above.
