MMA Worldwide

Herschel Walker ready to fight

Posted by Matthew Kaplowitz on the 14 January 2010 | No Comments

There is nothing like a good steak and some fights, and thanks to Strikeforce, this reporter got to indulge in both today. Herschel Walker held a press luncheon Wednesday Jan. 13th at Gallagher’s Steakhouse in Midtown Manhattan to discuss his MMA debut against Greg Nagy on January 30.  Walker has played 12 NFL seasons with four different teams, and also competed in the ’92 Winter Olympics, and MMA has become the new way that Herschel would like to challenge himself.

The 47 year-old athlete, according to Dr. Alan Fields, the chief physician for Florida’s athletic commission, has the body of a 22 year old and is ready to prove his mettle in the cage.  “I’ve been in football a long time, I am stepping into a new world,” Walker addressed the press directly, “ Those guys have earned their stripes, I have not earned mine yet but I have gotten a lot of attention so I wanted to introduce myself to you guys and give you the chance to take all the pop shots now and come January 30, you can see if I earned the name MMA fighter.

“I love athletics and I love to compete. This is one of the most fierce competitions out there today and me being as crazy as I am, I want to be a part of it. It just happens that me being at this age, I had an opportunity to do it,” Herschel explained about his motivation. “I don’t know how long I can do this but I had the chance to do it right now. I watched MMA for years and now I have the opportunity to do it.”

Walker spoke humbly about his fifth degree black belt in Tae Kwon Do and how important it was to not have an ego when beginning this endeavor. “One thing I had to do when I first came to AKA was to drop all of this Tae Kwon Do and Heisman Trophy and come in as a student and come in to learn this. I always tell everybody, you got a black belt and you go to a new gym, you don’t have a black belt anymore. You have to become a whole new guy because there is a whole different system for you.”

Javier Mendes, head coach at AKA, was reluctant to train the Heisman trophy winner at first. “Originally I was told about Walker back in September and my original response to that was he’s crazy, he’s 47, it can’t be done!” Luckily, Bob Cook saw something in Walker and accepted him as a student. “The first thing I noticed was he was very green… but he was really picking this thing up quick!”

“As time went on he kept improving at such a fast rate,” Mendez continued, “ What he said that stuck with me really well was that he relied on myself and Bob Cook to make the decision on whether or not he was going to fight or not because he was not sure if he was ready or not… Every day he kept improving, and this is a different guy! He was improving on the areas that take a lot of time to improve on!”

Mendez put Herschel on “the fast track” and began sparring by the second week of training and bested all of his partners with the exception of Cain Velasquez, which Javier explained more. “The level that Herschel is at now, I am very comfortable that he can fight MMA and I disagree with him. The first time he laced up the gloves and went for it, he was an MMA fighter.”

At this point in the presser, Herschel offered the microphone (and his gratitude) to two of his training partners, Bobby Southworth and middleweight Luke Rockhold, and asked for their blessing.  “One thing I don’t want to do is embarrass AKA because there is nothing there but fighters and if I come out there and embarrass AKA that means I will be another Jose Canseco or Johnny Morton.” Walker reassured the press, “I will not do that because it is an embarrassment to the sport.”

“Herschel is an amazing athlete and he has the right mindset,” Rockhold began, “Some guys when they come into MMA, they get hit and they shy away and turn away. When Herschel gets hit he comes back with fire.”

Former Strikeforce Heavyweight champion Bobby Southworth had equally good things to say about Walker. “Herschel is one of the few fighters that is coming to our gym and been able not just do everything, but hang with every fighter in our gym and that is a rarity… He is taking it as seriously as any other MMA fighter I have ever worked with and he will be successful with this like he has with any other venture in his life.”

“Crazy Bob Cook said that Herschel is a reflection on us and we all have to band together if we are going to be a team and help him out,” Mendez answered when asked about the reaction of other AKA fighters when Walker first arrived, “ I came at the point where there was too much information and everybody was helping him out. So I came and had a talk with everyone to tell them the opposite and leave him alone!” Mendez continued, “ It is important for us since he does want to represent MMA the way it was meant to be, with respect.”

“Most of the guys in that gym are training for fights so even though I may be the green guy, I have to keep up with them or they are going to slack off and not be ready to fight,” Walker said about AKA. “They have to push me and that is why the gym is so great, because there is a ton of fighters at that gym and each one is training for a different fight so everyone is pushing everyone.” Walker is more than appreciative over the support and help he has received at AKA, “These guys have become like my family and I have never had a family so quick in my whole life like I have with these guys… they became like my brothers and I love them.”

When asked about the difference in physicality between football and MMA, Walker replied, “ I used to come home and my mother would always want me to take a nap and I never did after football practice. I come back home from MMA practice and I take a nap! It is very demanding and difficult… From the time you hit the gym to the time you leave it is very stressful. You are using every muscle in your body whether you are on the ground or hitting pads… it is very, very, very physical.”

“There is a lot of standing around in football practice, in MMA they are going at it all the time so you better be ready to go,” Walker mentioned about the difference of practice between football and MMA. “You are either on the mat or in the ring so there is something going on at all times. You’re not standing there resting, waving hands or signing autographs!”

“Right now I am about 216,” Walker stated when asked about his weight, which will be contested at heavyweight class. “It’s funny because I wanted to get into my football weight because it was 220 but now I am a few pounds underweight.” Walker is unsure about cutting weight in the future. “ I am taking things one fight at a time. I have to be realistic, I am older and I don’t know how long I will be doing this here but right now I am doing it today… I am just happy Strikeforce found me an opponent that isn’t 265. I think that they should have another weight class for those super heavyweights.”

Walker is also doing something unprecedented in MMA, donating his entire purse from this fight to charity.  “ I am donating my purse to Project Turnaround in Oakdale, Texas. This is where I am naïve and stupid… when I talked about doing this fight I did not talk about money, I just wanted to fight. It just so happens you get paid…  I wouldn’t do anything for money, I do it because I love it so I wanted to help someone else and donate it to them.” Walker previously donated the earnings of his book to charity as well.

Walker makes his Strikeforce debut Saturday, January 30 at the Bank Atlantic Center in Sunrise, Florida on Showtime.

For more on Hershel Walker and Strikeforce log on to www.strikeforce.com.