Walker Unfazed By UFC Submission Record

Valter Walker tied Demian Maia for the most consecutive UFC submissions in the modern era but downplayed the accomplishment after his latest finish at UFC Abu Dhabi.

Walker tapped out Junior Tafa, Don'Tale Mayes, Kennedy Nzechukwu, Louie Sutherland and Thomas Petersen across his past five outings, matching Maia's run of five straight submissions between 2007 and 2009. Rather than celebrate, the 28-year-old Brazilian pointed to former heavyweight champion Fabricio Werdum as the true standard for submission excellence. "For me, it's not about how many submissions you have, but who you submitted," Walker told MMA Fighting. "To me, the best of them all is [Fabricio] Werdum because it's about who Werdum submitted, not how many submissions he has. Werdum submitted Fedor Emelianenko, he submitted Cain Velasquez. So, to me, Werdum is the greatest heavyweight of all time."

Why Walker Rates Legacy Over Volume

Walker acknowledged his recent victims lack the resumes of Werdum's most famous conquests, which include a triangle choke of Emelianenko in Strikeforce and a kimura of Alistair Overeem in PRIDE. The rising heavyweight said he is submitting fighters without big names yet, making the achievement less meaningful than Werdum's run through legends. Walker added that determining which current opponents might one day carry that weight is impossible until their careers play out.

Walker earned a spot in the MMA Fighting Global Rankings heading into Abu Dhabi but said he needs years of development before comparing himself to the Brazilian greats. He expects to be a different fighter by age 32 or 33 and is targeting improvement rather than accolades. Walker sits in a heavyweight division currently headlined by Tom Aspinall, Ciryl Gane, Alexander Volkov, Sergei Pavlovich and Josh Hokit on the UFC roster.

Original reporting:

• mmafighting.com — Valter Walker unfazed by own submission record in UFC, celebrates Fabricio Werdum as heavyweight GOAT | MMA Fighting