Herschel Walker: A Lot of Guys Don’t Want to Fight Me

Filed under: StrikeforceSAN JOSE – As Herschel Walker took his seat among a lineup of vastly more experienced fighters at Thursday’s Strikeforce press conference, ring announcer Jimmy Lennon Jr. – a man whose job requires him to work in hyperbole the w…

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SAN JOSE – As Herschel Walker took his seat among a lineup of vastly more experienced fighters at Thursday’s Strikeforce press conference, ring announcer Jimmy Lennon Jr. – a man whose job requires him to work in hyperbole the way some artists work in oils – called him “the greatest athlete in the world.”

It’s the kind of statement that might get tossed out easily and maybe even thoughtlessly in all the megaphone barking of fight promotion, but the 48-year-old Walker, who’s been everything from an NFL running back to an Olympic bobsledder, doesn’t take it lightly.

“I don’t know whether I feel up to that,” Walker told MMA Fighting. “I think I’m a pretty good athlete, but there are a lot of good athletes out there. Even though I’ve done a lot of things and done them at the highest level, that’s a bold statement to make. I think it’s great to hear it, but I don’t know if you can ever really say it.”

On Eve of Second MMA Fight, Herschel Walker Still Making Outlandish Claims About Pretty Much Everything

(Apologies if the vid takes awhile to load. You try squeezing all of Walker’s BS in to a simple embed code. VidProps: Shoot Media)
We’ve been pretty studiously ignoring Herschel Walker since his bout with Scott Carson got postponed b…

(Apologies if the vid takes awhile to load. You try squeezing all of Walker’s BS in to a simple embed code. VidProps: Shoot Media)

We’ve been pretty studiously ignoring Herschel Walker since his bout with Scott Carson got postponed back in November. Somewhere along the way we just got tired of the guy’s running patter. Even last week when the mainstream media grabbed hold of his offhand comment about trying to make a comeback to the NFL when he turns 50 and trumpeted it from the rooftops like it was some kind of actual news, we turned a deaf ear. For our money, 48-year-old dude wants to fight? No big deal. He’s semi-famous, so we gotta put him on the main card? We get it. For real though, the fact that Strikeforce has to go out and sign no-name opponents for the express purpose of getting beat up by Herschel Walker in 220-pound catchweight fights pretty much says it all about the legitimacy of his MMA career.

However, this latest video from the good people at Shoot Media – who in all honesty do pretty great work – sparked our interest. Mostly because it successfully falls in line with the standard Rich-Athlete-Makes-Sacrifices-to-Pursue-his-True-Passion clichés while still giving us a nod and a wink about what an odd, odd man we’re dealing with here. Among other dubious claims made in this vid, Walker says he was just a fat kid with a speech impediment from small town Georgia that no one thought would amount to squat. You know, until it turned out he was one of the greatest natural athletes of all time, rushed for over 3,000 yards in high school, became a national prep scholar-athlete of the year and went on to become maybe the greatest college running back in history. Still, those early years were pretty touch-and-go.

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Strikeforce: Diaz vs. Cyborg Preview and Predictions

Filed under: StrikeforceTwo title belts are on the line, and the most famous fighter in the promotion will step into the cage, when Strikeforce returns to its home base of San Jose on Saturday night. We’ve got the full preview right here.

What: Strike…

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Two title belts are on the line, and the most famous fighter in the promotion will step into the cage, when Strikeforce returns to its home base of San Jose on Saturday night. We’ve got the full preview right here.

What: Strikeforce: Diaz vs. Cyborg

Where: HP Pavilion, San Jose

When: The Showtime card starts at 10 PM ET on Saturday.

Predictions on the four televised fights below.

Herschel Walker and Scott Carson a Study in Contrasts at Strikeforce Presser

Filed under: Strikeforce, NewsSAN JOSE – Herschel Walker made two things very clear at Thursday afternoon’s pre-fight press conference at the HP Pavilion: 1) he is totally, fully invested in his MMA training, no matter what skeptics might think, and 2)…

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SAN JOSE – Herschel Walker made two things very clear at Thursday afternoon’s pre-fight press conference at the HP Pavilion: 1) he is totally, fully invested in his MMA training, no matter what skeptics might think, and 2) he owns a “chicken company” that somehow doesn’t get any press even with all the media attention on his second pro fight this Saturday night at Strikeforce: Diaz vs. Cyborg.

“I have a food company. I don’t know if you all know that but you need to write that up,” said Walker. “I have a chicken company that sells to Sysco. It’s the largest minority-owned chicken company in the United States. I have over 600 employees. I’m serious, you need to write that down.”

The point is, the reason the 48-year-old waited so long to get involved in MMA wasn’t because he wasn’t interested, Walker said. It’s just that he was busy with his company, Renaissance Man Food Services, and he doesn’t believe in doing anything just a little bit. That’s why he told his employees that if they called him while he was training at AKA that they would be summarily fired, and also why he’s spent the better part of the last year living in a hotel just to be near the gym.

Strikeforce Cyborg vs Diaz

Welterweight Championship bout: Nick Diaz (c) vs Evangelista Santos This is going to be Nick Diaz’ toughest fight since being in Strikeforce. Santos is tough everywhere. Good standup, good ground. Better than Diaz? Different. I still think Diaz is going to win this fight. Middleweight Championship bout: Ronaldo Souza (c) vs Robbie Lawler If Lawler […]

Welterweight Championship bout: Nick Diaz (c) vs Evangelista Santos

This is going to be Nick Diaz’ toughest fight since being in Strikeforce. Santos is tough everywhere. Good standup, good ground. Better than Diaz? Different. I still think Diaz is going to win this fight.

Middleweight Championship bout: Ronaldo Souza (c) vs Robbie Lawler

If Lawler connects Souza will be out. In fact, I like Lawler here.

Heavyweight bout: Herschel Walker vs Scott Carson

No pick.

Light Heavyweight bout: Roger Gracie vs Trevor Prangley

Prangley is a longtime veteran and difficult to submit. However, on this night, Gracie will submit him.
I have Gracie winning this fight inside 2.

Strikeforce: Diaz vs. Cyborg Fight Card

Filed under: Strikeforce, NewsThe entire Strikeforce: Diaz vs. Cyborg fight card is set for Jan. 29, Strikeforce director of communications Mike Afromowitz confirmed Tuesday with MMAFighting.com.

Check out below the complete lineup featuring four Show…

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The entire Strikeforce: Diaz vs. Cyborg fight card is set for Jan. 29, Strikeforce director of communications Mike Afromowitz confirmed Tuesday with MMAFighting.com.

Check out below the complete lineup featuring four Showtime bouts and nine preliminary bouts to take place at the HP Pavilion in San Jose, Calif.