UFC light heavyweight contender Johnny Walker has spoken about the mistake which cost him the fight against Corey Anderson this past weekend.

Walker headlined the prelims at UFC 244 in a fight that many were tipping to be his big moment in the spotlight. In the end, though, it turned out to be anything but as Anderson was able to run through him with ease in a first round TKO victory.

It put a definitive end to the Brazilian’s five-fight winning streak to start his UFC career, and during a recent interview with MMA Fighting, the man himself was able to reflect on what exactly went wrong at Madison Square Garden.

“I know it was my mistake,” Walker told MMA Fighting. “I hesitated too much. I should have been more aggressive, but I didn’t. I had too many people talking about his takedowns, so I waited for him to shoot, and I didn’t let my game go. It was the wrong strategy. I should have listened to myself. I listened to everyone else but me. That was my mistake. I regret that.

“I should have gone for the knockout right away like I always do, but I ended up changing my game and everything went wrong. But it’s alright – I’m ready for the next one.”

Walker is hoping to return as soon as possible which won’t exactly come as much of a surprise to the masses, whereas Anderson has his eyes firmly set on a UFC Light Heavyweight Championship title shot.

As we’ve come to learn over the course of the last 25 years, counting someone out after a loss like this in the UFC is a mistake more often than not. With that in mind, it’ll be interesting to see how Walker is able to bounce back.

This article first appeared on BJPENN.COM on 11/6/2019.