Petrino dismisses Walker as 'a clown' and demands UFC book their heavyweight clash

Vitor Petrino has publicly called out Valter Walker as “a clown” and accused the UFC of failing to book a fight he claims to have requested multiple times, escalating a rivalry between two of the promotion’s top-ranked heavyweights.

The dispute flared after Walker posted a photo from Petrino’s unanimous decision victory over Serghei Spivac on 22 August — a win that extended Petrino’s streak to four — and labelled the performance boring on social media. Petrino, now 15-2, wasted little time responding.

“That guy is a clown. Nobody respects him. I don’t even want to talk about him much,” Petrino said. “I’ve asked for that fight several times and I don’t know why the UFC hasn’t made it happen.”

The bad blood between the two Brazilian heavyweights is not new. Petrino’s coach, Cristiano Marcello, had previously confirmed that Petrino accepted a challenge from Walker, suggesting the matchup has been on the table for some time without the UFC pulling the trigger.

Petrino also took direct aim at Walker’s competitive ambition, contrasting their attitudes toward top-level opposition. “Unlike him, who has already said he’s not interested in fighting the top guys, I like challenging myself,” Petrino said. “I’ll fight anyone in the Top 10. I love to challenge myself.”

Walker, who stands at 16-1, arrives at this war of words in formidable form of his own. He is riding a five-fight win streak, with every one of those victories coming via leg-based submission — four of them by heel hook — making him one of the most dangerous grapplers in the heavyweight division.

With both fighters ranked among the UFC’s top heavyweights and neither short of motivation, the pressure is now on the promotion to schedule a bout that both camps appear willing — if not eager — to take.