Magomed Ankalaev vs. Johnny Walker 2 predictions: Who are the pros backing to win upcoming UFC Vegas 84 headliner?

Pro fighters recently weighed in with their predictions for the UFC Vegas 84 headliner between Magomed Ankalaev and Johnny Walker, who will settle the score in the main event of the first Fight Night of 2024, which takes place at the Apex in Las Vegas, Nevada.

Ankalaev and Walker most recently competed this past October at UFC 294, which saw them fight to a no contest after some miscommunication between the Brazilian and the cageside doctor following an illegal knee resulted in the fight being stopped. The stoppage caused a chaotic scene that led to Dana White entering the octagon in order to prevent the situation from escalating any further.

Fortunately, cooler heads prevailed and both fighters exited the octagon and returned to the locker room. Due to the confusion surrounding the bout, White worked on booking a rematch to ensure both fighters were back in the octagon as soon as possible.

According to a report by BJPenn.com, the majority of pro fighters are leaning towards Ankalaev to pick up the win in the UFC Vegas 84 headliner. They asked six UFC fighters including Jim Miller, Gillian Robertson, Mario Bautista, Jimmy Flick, Marcus McGhee, and former light heavyweight champion Jan Blachowicz.

The pros noted that they believe the Russian is the more technical fighter and that his grappling could be the difference maker and what secures him the win. Miller was the only fighter that backed Walker and expects the charismatic striker to finish the former light heavyweight title challenger. He said:

"I'll go with [Johnny] Walker by knockout." [h/t bjpenn.com]

There is some uncertainty surrounding the light heavyweight championship as it appeared as though former champion Jamahal Hill would challenge Alex Pereira for the title, but it remains unclear how long it will be before he is cleared to return.

With that in mind, tonight's main event becomes much more intriguing as the winner of Ankalaev vs. Walker could very well earn a title shot should they win in spectacular fashion.