Johnny Walker vs Jamahal Hill UFC Vegas 48 Odds, Time, and Prediction

UFC Vegas 48 will be headlined by the fight between two light heavyweight fighters, Johnny Walker and Jamahal Hill. The event is taking place on Saturday, February 19 at UFC’s Apex facility in Vegas, where most of the crowd is expected to root for the American fighter, Jamahal Hill.

Should this be a problem to his Brazilian opponent? Probably not, as Johnny Walker has already won several fights in Vegas, most recently, we saw him knock out Ryan Spann in 2020.

Still, despite having no fear to hold him down, Johnny Walker is expected to lose on Saturday. At least, that’s what oddsmakers think. Are there right to think of Hill as the favorite? Let’s find out!

Johnny Walker vs Jamahal Hill Odds (UFC Vegas 48, 2022) 

All odds are per FanDuel as of February 17.

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Where and When to Watch

• Date: Saturday, February 19
• Time: 7:00 PM EDT
• Location: UFC Apex in Enterprise, NV
• Watch: ESPN+

Johnny Walker Hoping to Improve His Portfolio

Johnny Walker got his UFC contract in 2018 after doing well at Dana White’s Contender Series Brazil 2 where he defeated Henrique da Silva by decision. That was his 14^th win of his career, while he also had three losses in his portfolio back then.

On his UFC debut, Walker beat Khalil Rountree Jr. by knockout. He won the next two fights – against Justin Ledet and Misha Cirkunov – by technical knockout. For each of those fights, he received the Performance of the Night bonus.

Then, in November 2019, Walker suffered his first defeat in the UFC. Cory Anderson beat him by TKO. Another loss followed a few months later when Nikita Krylov beat him by decision. Walker bounced back in September the same year with a win over Ryan Spann in Vegas.

When everyone was expecting Walker to continue his rise, he failed again. In his last UFC fight, he lost by decision to fellow Brazilian Thiago Santos. The fight happened in October 2021, and more than four months later, Walker is ready to get back to the winning track. Or is he?

Are the Bookies Right to Favor Hill?

Jamahal Hill is 9-1 in his professional career, with one of his fights declared no contest. It happened in May 2020, when he beat Klidson Abreu by TKO. However, after testing positive for weed, the win was taken away from him.

Since then, he fought another three bouts, winning two (against Ovince Saint Preux and Jimmy Crute) and losing one (to Paul Craig).

His record is impressive, which is probably the #1 reason why oddsmakers think he will win on Saturday. However, the fact is that he doesn’t have as much experience as his next opponent. Even though he is one year older than Walker, Hill has fought only 11 professional fights so far.

Plus, we still haven’t seen him take on a top-level MMA athlete. Paul Craig is probably the best fighter he’s faced so far. Craig, who beat Hill two fights ago, is currently sitting in the #11 place in the UFC Light Heavyweight Rankings. Hill’s next opponent is one spot higher. Meanwhile, Hill himself is in the #12 place.

Knowing all this, it really does seem that the bookies are being unfair to Walker. That said, it seems smart to try and take advantage of the situation by backing the Brazilian at +210.

Pick: Johnny Walker to Win (+210)