Thomas PetersenvsValter Walker

Thomas Petersen's got a tougher road to read. The Train's coming off a majority decision win over Guilherme Pat back in April, but before that he got knocked out by Vitor Petrino in the third round last October. His best performance was probably that dominant decision over Don'Tale Mayes in May 2025, where he went 9 for 9 on takedowns and controlled nearly 14 minutes of the fight. When Petersen's wrestling is working, he can smother dudes. But he's also been slept by Shamil Gaziev in just over three minutes.

Here's the thing, Petersen's a southpaw wrestler who wants to grind and control. Walker's an orthodox submission artist who's hunting legs the second the fight hits the mat. That's a dangerous game for The Train because one wrong scramble, one failed takedown, and Walker's got that heel hook locked in before you can blink. Petersen needs to keep this standing and dirty box, but his wrestling instincts might be his worst enemy against a guy who's basically a leg lock assassin.