Hershel Walker

[Kevin73]

Why do people play into Dana's marketing strategy? Dana insults a fighter and then that fighter spends all his time talking about the UFC giving them free publicity and marketing, along with the impression of the average fan that the UFC is the top of the food chain.

It is hard to argue that when most of Strikeforces fighters were wash outs of the UFC.

[BM2]

Tito Ortiz said what started the bad blood between Dana and himself was money. Tito thought that the UFC was making a ton of money off the fighters and he thought that the fight purse should be more aligned with boxing as MMA grew. When he tried to get Chuck Liddell to hold out too, Dana was ****ed. The UFC covers the fighter's pay, and the cost of the arena, with the ticket sales and the millions from pay per view goes to the UFC.

[MasterKiller]

It is hard to argue that when most of Strikeforces fighters were wash outs of the UFC.

And yet, Strikeforce puts on better shows.

[GeneChing]

Walker is training with Javier at AKA. He's donating his purse to Project Turnaround.

Walker jumps full tilt into MMA career
By GREG STODA
Cox Newspapers
Jan. 13, 2010, 1:45PM

Former NFL player and Heisman Trophy winner Herschel Walker, left, will make his MMA debut Jan. 30.


MIAMI LAKES, Fla. — Herschel Walker is always looking for something to do.

He'll climb into a steel cage this time to try his hand — fists, actually, and just about anything else on his still-sculpted 47-year-old body — at mixed martial arts. This means Walker will have gone from ballet to bobsleds to brutality after winning the Heisman Trophy as a running back at the University of Georgia and a noteworthy pro football career, too.

He's nothing if not a restless and curious soul.

“People always say what you can't do instead of what you can,” Walker said in what serves as a mantra for his life. “This is the hardest thing I've ever done. Sometimes, you have to set your ego aside. I missed Christmas and New Year's (while training). You can tell I'm serious, because I love Santa Claus.”

He says his fight debut, scheduled for Jan. 30 at BankAtlantic Center, is no joke. Walker, in fact, said it was “an insult” to have watched unprepared former baseball star Jose Canseco embarrass himself in a mixed martial arts debacle.

If he's being fast-tracked in promotions by his Strikeforce handlers — and he absolutely is — Walker is a willing and fearless participant in the show.

“I'm not even a little bit afraid,” Walker said. “I've had great respect for this sport ever since I saw it for the first time and said to myself, ‘I want to do that.' That respect has helped me learn what I have to learn to do this.”

Walker, by the way, holds a fifth-degree black belt in tae kwon do, but said that particular discipline probably did him more harm than good when it came to training for mixed martial arts. Different movements, he said. Different lots of stuff, he said.

“I had to forget some things,” Walker said.

But he still looks good.

He's eating only one meal a day, as usual — no red meat, as usual — and getting through on “three or four hours” of sleep, as usual. His once-famous workout routine consisting of what he said was once 5,000 push ups and 5,000 sit-ups per day is all the way down to 1,500 push-ups and 2,500 sit-ups on heaviest daily duty.

“I can lift a bus,” Walker said.

Maybe he can.

He spars regularly with a kid who wasn't born when Walker won his Heisman Trophy in 1982. His trainer, Javier Mendez, went from thinking Walker was “ridiculous” for taking a fight while still an MMA novice to calling him a “one of a kind athlete.”

Walker, at 6-foot-1 and 216 pounds, said his body fat has been measured at 4 percent, and Dr. Allan Fields, a physician on hand for Tuesday's news conference, declared him a cardiovascular marvel.

“He's 47 going on 22 as far as physical conditioning,” Fields said.

Maybe he is.

It certainly figures to make for great theater, and Strikeforce hopes to sell out an arena configured to hold at least 10,000 fans. Walker is the draw, regardless of where he falls on a planned five-bout card.

Walker, who owns a business in the food industry, insists he doesn't need the money and called this undertaking a result of his desire for adventure, challenge and competition.

“I do so many crazy things,” he said.

Which, not long ago, he perhaps explained in his “Breaking Free” memoir. Walker revealed that he had suffered from dissociative identity disorder, also known as multiple personality disorder, and had contemplated suicide.

Though a serious matter, obviously, Walker can have some fun with it these days at his own expense. For example, he said he figures his involvement in mixed martial arts at such an advanced age is “one of my younger personalities” presenting itself.

Youth might help against his 26-year-old opponent, Greg Nagy, who's 6-3 and 215 pounds.

“I've seen him on film,” Walker said. “He gets hit and just keeps coming.”

Walker allowed himself the tightest of smiles at his own scouting report, and said he plans to hang around South Florida after the bout to play golf with Dan Marino and attend the Super Bowl.

“If I'm not too sore,” Walker said.

He has danced ballet in Texas and pushed a bobsled in the Olympics.

Now, ever restless and ever curious, a steel cage.

[Lucas]

thats pretty exciting, im looking forward to watching him fight.

[GeneChing]

Any bets here?

January 27, 2010
Herschel Walker vs Greg Nagy Fight Odds

Herschel Walker vs Greg Nagy Fight Odds: This Saturday former NFL football player and Heisman Trophy winner Herschel Walker will make his mixed martial arts debut at the age of 47. The heavyweight Walker will face the lightly regarded Greg Nagy (1-1) from the Bank Atlantic Center in Sunrise, FL at 10:00 PM ET in a three round bout. Despite having never fought in the octagon the physically imposing Walker has been instilled as a 3-1 favorite on most MMA Betting boards.

The Herschel Walker vs Greg Nagy Fight Odds have Walker at -325 on the MMA Betting moneyline at Bodog.com.

Some MMA critics have scoffed at Walker’s entry into the mixed martial arts world but the confident Walker had this to say about his new fighting career: "I've been training for several years. I would play college football games on Saturday and then compete in martial arts tournaments on Sunday after church. I'm now looking forward to opening up another chapter in my life and to competing in MMA. I will go in there and test myself against any 20-year-old. I know there will be naysayers and I'm fine with that. I want to prove to people who sit on a couch and don't do anything but criticize other people that, if you're a true athlete or martial artist, you're not old until you can't get up and walk around anymore. MMA fighters are said to be some of the best athletes in the world. My plan at the age of 47 is to show the world I am still one of the best athletes as well.”

It should be noted that Walker does own a fifth-degree black belt in Tae Kwon Do and went to the 1992 Olympics as a Bobsledder. Walker is still a chiseled 6’1” 225 Lbs. and was one of the most gifted athletes on the gridiron with 4.40 40-yard dash speed in his prime. Walker’s opponent Greg Nagy has the appearance of a truck driven with his lily white skin and pot belly so Walker’s handlers at Strikeforce are giving him the right type of opponent for his first bout. The Herschel Walker vs Greg Nagy Fight Odds give Walker a 76% chance of winning on the MMA Betting moneyline.

[Lucas]

im not a betting man, but if i were my money would be on walker

[GeneChing]

I liked this article. There are plenty more...

Thu Jan 28, 2010 8:15 am EST
Walker embarrassed to be getting lion's share of attention
By Steve Cofield

It was a slam dunk for Strikeforce. In spite of being slammed by the sport's most influential personality, UFC president Dana White, Herschel Walker and Strikeforce appear to be a match made in PR heaven. The Pro Bowl is just days away in South Florida and Super Bowl 44 a week later, so a football legend like Walker is going to draw some attention. Especially at the age of 47, as he tries mixed martial arts.

Walker's presence turned out a solid crowd of media types at Strikeforce's workout day at American Top Team in Ft. Lauderdale. Walker was a bit surprised it was mostly for him and not the more established fighters:

"I'll say it's kind of embarrassing that I'm getting all this publicity when you have true fighters out there that can fight and do a lot of things," Walker told the Ft. Lauderdale Sun-Sentinel. "In some ways I'm happy to see it because I want to bring recognition to the sport. But I don't want to embarrass the sport. I'm going to go in there to fight."

As he's said many times already, this no publicity stunt for the NFL legend and 1982 Heisman Trophy winner. Walker even put aside his love of Santa Claus to make this trip to the cage:

"I gave up my Christmas, my New Year's and all that," he said. "And I love Santa Claus. To give that up, I had to be serious about it."

Walker makes his pro debut against Phoenix's Greg Nagy on the undercard of Strikeforce's event Saturday at the Bank Atlantic Center in Sunrise. Pro wrestler Bobby Lashley (pictured on the right) is also featured on the card along with female star Marloes Coenen (pictured with Frank Shamrock).

[GeneChing]

Dana White Rips Strikeforce, Showtime For Signing Herschel Walker
9/24/2009 11:00 AM ET By Michael David Smith

UFC President Dana White says he's outraged that Strikeforce has signed former football star Herschel Walker to make his MMA debut at age 47, and he ripped Strikeforce's TV partner, Showtime, for engaging in a gimmick that makes the sport look bad.

"I think it's ridiculous," White told Mike Chiappetta on the Inside The Ultimate Fighter podcast. "People think we're anti-competition? We're anti-dumb competition. Doing stupid things like this, putting a 50-year-old guy in the Octagon for the first time, and then going out there putting out press releases like it's a big deal because you signed a 50-year-old Herschel Walker? Are you serious?"

White suggested that Strikeforce's partnership with Showtime has changed the way it does business, for the worse.

"Strikeforce is a small, little, regional show," White said. "The geniuses over at Showtime, these guys are the most arrogant, ****y, pompous *******es I've ever met in my whole life."

Noting that Walker has no experience as a fighter, White questioned whether a suitable opponent could be found for him, and he questioned whether the fight would be sanctioned at all.

"Which athletic commission is going to let this guy fight?" White asked. "Who the f**k are they going to find to fight Herschel Walker? A guy in a wheelchair?"

In reality, athletic commissions sanction fighters with no experience all the time: Everyone has to start with an 0-0 record. And while it's true that not many of those fighters are 47 years old, not many of them are world-class athletes, either. If Strikeforce wants to make the Walker fight happen, it can find a sanctioning body and an opponent to make it happen.

But that doesn't mean White has to like it. Said White of Strikeforce's decision to put Walker in the cage, "It's completely disrespectful to the sport."

Tempe Man Gets Stomped by Herschel Walker in MMA Fight
By James King in Sports
Mon., Feb. 1 2010 @ 8:23AM

​A 25-year-old Tempe man got trounced by 47-year-old former NFL star and Heisman Trophy winner Herschel Walker on Saturday night fighting in a mixed martial arts fight in Sunrise, Florida.

We're not huge fans of these sort of fights -- there's just something a little unsettling about watching two shirtless men roll around on a mat -- but when a guy who's pushing 50, with no experience, beats a 25-year-old kid, it's worth a little attention.

The fight had been considered by many to be a novelty or sideshow, with Walker and his famous name being 22 years older than his opponent, Greg "Dangerous" Nagy, but the aging gridiron great proved that you can teach an old dog some new tricks and beat the youngster by TKO in the third round.

The fight was Walker's MMA debut but was Nagy's third fight of his young career. In his first two fights, Nagy went 1-1, with his only win coming at a Rage in the Cage event in Casa Grande last August.

Walker seemed to have the upper hand for most of the fight, dominating Nagy both on the ground and in punch count. Walker only appeared vulnerable once, when Nagy got him in a leg-lock submission hold but Walker escaped the hold and went on to further beat Nagy down.

In the third round, Walker got Nagy to the ground, where he viciously attacked Nagy, landing several unanswered punches, causing the referee to stop the fight.

Anyone dying to see the two shirtless men roll around together can do so by clicking here.

I kept the fight link here.

[Dragonzbane76]

what's up with the author of that piece.... continuously resorted to 'gay' ennuendo about 2 guys rolling shirtless on the floor?

anyways watched the fight and I was impressed with walker. He looked well rounded and was not nervous and kept his cool.

[sanjuro_ronin]

what's up with the author of that piece.... continuously resorted to 'gay' ennuendo about 2 guys rolling shirtless on the floor?

anyways watched the fight and I was impressed with walker. He looked well rounded and was not nervous and kept his cool.

Glad to see Herchel won, always was a fan of his.
To say he had no experience is silly, he had no PRO fighting experience, this is true.

Just goes to prove how crucial physical prowess is in a fight.

[Dragonzbane76]

Just goes to prove how crucial physical prowess is in a fight.

totally agree it's a factor in any fight.

[sanjuro_ronin]

totally agree it's a factor in any fight.

I got admit, I am envious of Herchel's phsyique, he is like a greek god, LOL !
Sure I don't have thr whole day to work out like he does, nevertheless, he is a fine physcial specimen.

[GeneChing]

The Canseco fight didn't even earn its own thread here. It was posted in the David vs. Goliath thread. Put my money on Herschel.

Jose Canseco Wants To Fight Herschel Walker
Posted By Glenn S. Moore on Monday, February 1st, 2010, 10:20 pm

Jose Canseco wants to throw his hat back into the MMA ring. This time against former NFL running back, Herschel Walker.

“I guess I may have to show Herschel Walker who the real bad Boy of the Sports industry is. If the powers that be are reading, I want in,” said Canseco via his Twitter account Monday night.

Walker, a two-time Pro Bowl selection in the NFL, recently won his MMA debut two days earlier, defeating Greg Nagy in the third round during Strikeforce: Miami. Canseco on the other hand, lost his only MMA fight last May against 7-foot-2-inch Choi Hong-man in the first round. Yikes. I would compare that to losing to Cleveland Cavalier center Zydrunas Ilgauskas.

Canseco may have to rethink his challenge against Walker, who looked in great shape against Nagy. Canseco recently defeated Todd Poulton in a Celebrity Boxing Federation bout in Springfield, MA.

I would have to take Walker in a first round knockout. But isn’t the match we all want to see is Mark McGwire take on Canseco in the octagon?

[Frost]

UFC President Dana White says he's outraged that Strikeforce has signed former football star Herschel Walker to make his MMA debut at age 47, and he ripped Strikeforce's TV partner, Showtime, for engaging in a gimmick that makes the sport look bad.

This coming from a guy that hated on Kimbo for being a big name hyped up no talent, then promptly signs him even though he knows he is nothing more than a media circus and a way to increase viewing figures

Give it a view months and we will see Kimbo against Walker in the UFC