Johnny Walker’s time with his previous coach came to an official end after a rather awful experience at the end of 2019. Not only did the Brazilian suffer his first UFC loss in his last outing, but he also had to deal with a business partnership with former trainer Leonardo Gosling that allegedly ended up costing Walker $30,000.

In an interview with Ag Fight, Walker explained he was in search of a new coach after claiming that Gosling asked to borrow money to start a partnership with a gym in Thailand. Walker said he later found out that nothing ever came of it.

“After my surgery, I was in Los Angeles and my coach wanted to do a partnership with a gym in Thailand. We would move there, my name would be on it and he was going to teach lessons over there, too. I sent him $30,000, I trusted him, right? He ended up not teaching any classes. I had nothing of mine and I lost $30,000. I had many problems with him, but now I’m free.”

Still in search of a new mentor, Walker will prepare for his next fight under Firas Zahabi at Montreal’s Tristar Gym, but he is not yet sure where he will train for good. According to Walker, he has also spoken with Conor McGregor’s coach, John Kavanagh, and might give him a shot in the future before making up his mind.

“Some of my friends watched Joe Rogan’s podcast and he asked Firas who he would like to train, who had potential to become a champion. He said I was a big name, that he would like to work with me, that I would learn from him and him from me. When I learned that, I got in touch. I don’t have a head coach and I’m looking for one that’ll stick with me.”

“I also had that experience in Ireland, with John Kavanagh.” Walker continued. “I’ll pick one of the two, I’ll see which one I like better, him or Firas. I want to settle down somewhere and grow roots.”

In his last outing, back in November 2019, Walker (17-4) suffered his first UFC loss when he got TKO’d by Corey Anderson at UFC 244. Before the defeat, the 27-year-old was on a three-fight winning streak, with knockout wins over Khalil Rountree, Justin Ledet and Misha Cirkunov.

Now, Walker is expected to take on Nikita Krylov at UFC Fight Night 170, in Brasilia, Brazil, on March 14. The card is scheduled to be headlined by a lightweight bout between contenders Charles Oliveira and Kevin Lee.