Donald K. Walker (born January 4, 1980) is a former professional

American American(s) may refer to: * American, something of, from, or related to the United States of America, commonly known as the "United States" or "America" ** Americans, citizens and nationals of the United States of America ** American ancestry, p ...

mixed martial artist Mixed martial arts (MMA) is a full-contact fighting sport based on striking and grappling; incorporating techniques from various combat sports from around the world. In the early 20th century, various inter-stylistic contests took place t ...

. A professional from 2004 until 2013, he competed for the

UFC The Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) is an American mixed martial arts (MMA) promotion company based in Las Vegas, Nevada. It is owned and operated by TKO Group Holdings, a majority owned subsidiary of Endeavor Group Holdings. The larg ...

Bellator Bellator, warrior in Latin, may refer to: * Bellator MMA, a mixed martial arts promotion based in the United States * Bishop Bellator of Sufetula (5th century) Taxonomy * ''Bellator'' (fish), a fish genus in the family Triglidae (sea robins) ** ...

, and

King of the Cage King of the Cage (KOTC) is a mixed martial arts promotion based in Southern California, United States. History KOTC was founded in 1998 by Terry Trebilcock Jr. KOTC features mostly amateur as well as up and coming MMA stars and former mainstre ...

Mixed martial arts career

Walker began his MMA career competing mostly in regional promotions across the

midwest The Midwestern United States (also referred to as the Midwest, the Heartland or the American Midwest) is one of the four census regions defined by the United States Census Bureau. It occupies the northern central part of the United States. It ...

with most of his bouts occurring in the

featherweight Featherweight is a weight class in the combat sports of boxing, kickboxing, mixed martial arts, and Greco-Roman wrestling. Boxing Professional boxing History A featherweight boxer weighs in at a limit of . In the early days of the division, ...

division against notable opponents

Jeff Curran Jeff Curran (born September 2, 1977) is an American retired professional mixed martial artist. A professional competitor from 1998 to 2016, Curran fought at a number of different weight classes for a large number of promotions including Bella ...

and

Cub Swanson Kevin Luke "Cub" Swanson (born November 2, 1983) is an American professional mixed martial artist. He currently competes in the Featherweight (MMA), Featherweight division of the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC). A professional since 2004, S ...

. Walker was the reigning NAAFS Featherweight Champion before signing with the

Ultimate Fighting Championship

Walker tried out for the fourteenth season of

The Ultimate Fighter ''The Ultimate Fighter'' is an American reality television series and mixed martial arts (MMA) competition produced by the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) and Pilgrim Media Group currently airing on ESPN+. It previously aired for fourteen s ...

, making it to the interview round, but was not selected. Instead, Walker dropped to the

bantamweight Bantamweight is a weight class in combat sports and weightlifting. For boxing, the range is above and up to . In kickboxing, a bantamweight fighter generally weighs between . In mixed martial arts, MMA, bantamweight is . The name for the class ...

division and signed with the UFC. He made his promotional debut against fellow newcomer

Jeff Hougland Jeffery Ryan Hougland (born August 2, 1978) is a retired American professional mixed martial artist. A professional from 2002 until 2012, he competed for the UFC and WEC. Mixed martial arts career Early career Hougland started fighting profess ...

on July 2, 2011, at

UFC 132 ''UFC 132: Cruz vs. Faber'' was a mixed martial arts event held by the Ultimate Fighting Championship on July 2, 2011 at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in the Las Vegas suburb of Paradise, Nevada. Background UFC 132 was originally set to feature a r ...

. He lost the fight via unanimous decision. Walker faced Ken Stone on September 17, 2011, at

UFC Fight Night 25 ''UFC Fight Night: Shields vs. Ellenberger'' (also known as ''UFC Fight Night 25'' or ''UFC Fight Night: Battle on the Bayou'') was a mixed martial arts event held by the Ultimate Fighting Championship on September 17, 2011 at the Ernest N. Moria ...

. He was submitted via rear naked choke at 2:40 seconds of the first round. After going 0–2 in the UFC, he was subsequently released from the promotion.

Championships and accomplishments

North American Allied Fight Series The North American Allied Fight Series (NAAFS) was an Ohio-based mixed martial arts promotion, having put on over 125 events. The weekly ''NAAFS Cage Fighting'' series airs regionally on SportsTime Ohio, nationally on Direct TV and Dish Network, ...

** NAAFS Featherweight Championship (One time)

Mixed martial arts record

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Canonsburg, Pennsylvania Canonsburg is a Borough (Pennsylvania), borough in Washington County, Pennsylvania, United States, southwest of Pittsburgh. The population was 9,735 at the 2020 census. Canonsburg was laid out by Colonel John Canon in 1789 and incorporated in 180 ...

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Frank Caraballo Frank Caraballo (born December 18, 1984) is an American mixed martial artist who competes in the featherweight division. Mixed martial arts career Bellator Fighting Championships Caraballo lost to UFC veteran Waylon Lowe via unanimous decisio ...

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Cleveland, Ohio Cleveland is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Cuyahoga County, Ohio, Cuyahoga County. Located along the southern shore of Lake Erie, it is situated across the Canada–United States border, Canada–U.S. maritime border ...

, United States , Return to

Featherweight Featherweight is a weight class in the combat sports of boxing, kickboxing, mixed martial arts, and Greco-Roman wrestling. Boxing Professional boxing History A featherweight boxer weighs in at a limit of . In the early days of the division, ...

; lost NAAFS Featherweight Championship. , - , Loss , align=center, 15–8 , Ken Stone , Technical Submission (rear-naked choke) , UFC Fight Night: Shields vs. Ellenberger , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 2:40 ,

New Orleans, Louisiana New Orleans (commonly known as NOLA or The Big Easy among other nicknames) is a Consolidated city-county, consolidated city-parish located along the Mississippi River in the U.S. state of Louisiana. With a population of 383,997 at the 2020 ...

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Las Vegas Las Vegas, colloquially referred to as Vegas, is the most populous city in the U.S. state of Nevada and the county seat of Clark County. The Las Vegas Valley metropolitan area is the largest within the greater Mojave Desert, and second-l ...

Nevada Nevada ( ; ) is a landlocked state in the Western United States. It borders Oregon to the northwest, Idaho to the northeast, California to the west, Arizona to the southeast, and Utah to the east. Nevada is the seventh-most extensive, th ...

, United States , , - , Win , align=center, 15–6 , Billy Vaughan , Submission (rear-naked choke) , NAAFS: Night of Champions 2010 , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 2:58 ,

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Kenny Foster Kenny Foster (born June 16, 1985) is an American mixed martial artist. A professional mixed martial artist since 2009, Foster has competed for Bellator Fighting Championship, Bellator, holding a record of 3–6 with the promotion. Mixed martial ...

, TKO (punches) , EFC: Downtown Beatdown 3 , , align=center, 3 , align=center, 0:52 ,

Erie, Pennsylvania Erie is a city on the south shore of Lake Erie and the county seat of Erie County, Pennsylvania, United States. It is the List of municipalities in Pennsylvania, fifth-most populous city in Pennsylvania and the most populous in Northwestern Pen ...

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, United States , , - , Win , align=center, 11–6 , Tony Jayme , Decision (split) , NAAFS: Caged Vengeance 6 , , align=center, 3 , align=center, 5:00 ,

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, United States , , - , Win , align=center, 10–6 , Bruce Ferguson , Submission (armbar) , UMMAXX 8: All Heart, No Fear , , align=center, 3 , align=center, 2:04 ,

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, United States , , - , Win , align=center, 9–6 , Brad Fonck , TKO (punches) , UMMAXX 7: Out of the Cage , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 0:32 ,

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, Submission (rear-naked choke) , IFBL: Fight Night 11 , , align=center, 3 , align=center, 1:24 ,

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Yaotzin Meza Yaotzin Meza (born February 4, 1981) is an American former mixed martial artist who is best known for competing in the bantamweight and featherweight divisions of the Ultimate Fighting Championship. Background Meza went to Flagstaff High Sch ...

, TKO (punches) , EC: Fights , , align=center, 2 , align=center, N/A ,

Monterrey Monterrey (, , abbreviated as MtY) is the capital and largest city of the northeastern Mexican state of Nuevo León. It is the ninth-largest city and the second largest metropolitan area, after Greater Mexico City. Located at the foothills of th ...

, Mexico , , - , Win , align=center, 7–3 , Ryan McIntosh , Submission (guillotine choke) , Superior Fight Night 3 , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 0:24 ,

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Rockford, Illinois Rockford is a city in Winnebago County, Illinois, Winnebago and Ogle County, Illinois, Ogle counties in the U.S. state of Illinois. Located in far northern Illinois on the banks of the Rock River (Mississippi River tributary), Rock River, Rockfor ...

, United States , , - , Win , align=center, 6–1 , Dan Swift , Decision (split) , NAAFS: Caged Vengeance 2 , , align=center, 3 , align=center, 5:00 ,

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Edmonton, Alberta Edmonton is the capital city of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Alberta. It is situated on the North Saskatchewan River and is the centre of the Edmonton Metropolitan Region, which is surrounded by Central Alberta ...

, Canada , , - , Win , align=center, 3–1 , Adam Bass , TKO (punches) , ECC: Ho Ho Ho KO , , align=center, 1 , align=center, N/A ,

Dayton, Ohio Dayton () is a city in Montgomery County, Ohio, United States, and its county seat. It is the List of cities in Ohio, sixth-most populous city in Ohio, with a population of 137,644 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census. The Dayton metro ...

, United States , , - , Loss , align=center, 2–1 , Josh Souder , Submission (heel hook) , KOTC 42: Buckeye Nuts , , align=center, 2 , align=center, N/A ,

, United States , , - , Win , align=center, 2–0 , Jim Calazante , Submission (rear-naked choke) , Xtreme Fighting Organization 3 , , align=center, 2 , align=center, 1:20 ,

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References

External links

Official UFC Profile
* *Donny Walker Official web site - https://web.archive.org/web/20110207190146/http://donny-walker.com/ {{DEFAULTSORT:Walker, Donny American male mixed martial artists Mixed martial artists utilizing Muay Thai American male Muay Thai practitioners Living people 1980 births Mixed martial artists from Ohio Martial artists from Cleveland People from Madison, Ohio Ultimate Fighting Championship male fighters