Herschel Walker happy with MMA debut ... even if he never fights again
by MMAmania.com on Jan 31, 2010 12:23 PM EST
Email
Print
"You’re going to be shocked by this, but [the pressure did not bother me at all]. There was no pressure and the reason why was I really thought the people at AKA prepared me for it. The fighters at the gym, everyone there, they prepared me for this. What I had to do was just go in the ring and do it. I’ve loved (MMA) for about four years. This isn’t something I just decided I wanted to do. It’s something I’ve thought about for over four years. I want to thank Scott Coker and Strikeforce and Showtime for putting it on so my family back home could see it, but this is something I’ve loved for a long time."
-- Former NFL great Herschel Walker, 47, looks back on his third round technical knockout win over Greg Nagy at Strikeforce: "Miami." He -- along with his American Kickboxing Academy trainers and the promoter -- were genuinely pleased with his dominating performance in his first-ever professional mixed martial arts bout. He certainly wasn't a polished finishing machine, but with just nine weeks of training at his age, he impressed more than those just within his inner circle. Will he come back for an encore performance? He didn't shut the door on the possibility, deciding instead to just enjoy the latest lifetime accomplishment on a long list of accomplishments. But if if he does return, rest assured that the charity that receives his six-figure salary donation might be the happiest of all.
36 comments
|
0 recs |
Do you like this story?
Comments
I wonder if he works out
Fedor once bet NASA he could survive re-entry without a spacesuit.
On July 19th, 1999, a naked Fedor re-entered the earth's atmosphere, streaking over 14 states and reaching a temperature of 3000 degrees. An embarrassed NASA publically claimed it was a meteor, and still owes him a beer.
by McArthur... on Jan 31, 2010 12:35 PM EST up reply actions
Not bad at all for someone on their first fight (not the standup part though)
Could have finished it in the 1st if he didn’t spend so much time trying to wrist control and went for more gnp. A damn shame he’s so old.
by NNR (formerly NameNotRequired) on Jan 31, 2010 1:16 PM EST up reply actions
got to admire his will..
he is in shape for his age and he just wanted to do something enough and put his mind to it..and sure it wasn’t all pretty..but i was rootin for him…the fight kinda reminded me of a big brother pinning his lil sister down..
happy for the guy but...
That wasn’t even a can. I was embarresed by the level of competition. Nagy had no business being on this card, did you see him walking down the ramp? He looked like a school teacher with shades on. If anything I feel that walker should just take the win and never look back. Much like the Lashley fight, it just made me feel like there not even close to ready for real competition and I don’t need to see them fighting cans every 3rd month. Maybe walker vs lashley? Too much hype.
"When they took away headbutts, I had to learn some skills." Mark Coleman
by DrewMoney$$$ on Jan 31, 2010 1:48 PM EST via mobile reply actions
herschel walker is such an athlete
i would have loved to see this guy competing back in the day with the likes of ken shamrock, randy couture, don fry, kevin randleman and so on.
that said, i dont know how well he would do against some one that was not 1-1 and looks like they trained with wes sims for the fight
I was surprised to see Strikeforce decided to have an Elite XC fight on their card, cause that’s what the Walker vs Nagy fight was. They had a name, who was nothing more than a name, wanted him to look good to make themselves a profit, so they found the worst fighter possible (and I’m not being sarcastic or over-exaggerating) to guarantee their guy a win. Unlike Elite XCs attempt with Kimbo vs Petruzelli, Petruzelli wasn’t quite the scrub they thought he was and it backfired.
Anyone who was impressed with Walker needs to watch more real fights.
Nagy was 1-1 coming into this fight, with 2 fights at Rage in the Cage events, where they are loaded with talent (OK, I am being sarcastic there). He ever lost his last fight. So, why does an organization that is trying to compete with the UFC to be a legitimate MMA franchise bring in a guy who is 1-1 in a crappy organization and last his last fight? Because they wanted to all but fix the fight with Walker. Herschel Walker is not an MMA fighter. In my book, he’s 1-0 in his amateur MMA career. That crap does not count as a pro fight. That was a sham and a joke.
I was cool with Strikeforce doing their thing, albeit far inferior of the UFC (and it will always be that way). But, that crap I saw last night makes me care that much less about Strikeforce. Do they have good fighters and put on some good fights? Yeah. Should those fighters and those fights be happening in the UFC? Dang straight.
Strikeforce and Showtime proved they’re second rate at best.
That show did not win them any credibility or fans.
FAIL!
by Craig15 on Jan 31, 2010 2:01 PM EST reply actions 1 recs
are you dana white, or a fertitta person???
by freedomthrtyfve on Jan 31, 2010 2:04 PM EST up reply actions
Both
Are you going to try and defend that matchup? Really? I honestly felt with my limited BJJ skills and no stand up training whatsoever, I probably would accept a fight against Nagy, because he’s that bad. I have never, ever, seen a fighter that bad on a “major” card. It was a fix.
I understand it was Walkers first fight and you’re not gonna put him in against a top talent, but have him fight someone in your organization. When you bring in a scrub from outside your organization just for this fight, it’s pretty clear you’re doing everything you can to make sure the outcome you get is the one you want. They probably scouted for months trying to find the least talented MMA fighter out there, and believe you me, they found him in Nagy.
That fight was awful from the time Nagy walked out.
I want to see Walker fight, but I want to see a real fight. Not putting him in there with some chode who probably gets beat up by jr high girls.
Nagy blows. Strikefore lost credibility in bringing in a scrub to guarantee a W for their guy.
i think your dead wrong...
they never rang me, and i can guarantee you i am a far worse mma fighter than mr nagy, but if they ever need a world class fat lazy bastard, then i’m there man.
it was what it was, and it may not have gone down well with hardcore fans, but, you have to admire the fella for doing it, plus from what i understand, his chosen charity got his wages. brock fought in the ufc in his second fight, the only difference is that mr walker is 17 years older…. and thats it, the age…
by freedomthrtyfve on Jan 31, 2010 2:33 PM EST up reply actions
They literally took a guy who was 1-1 on some little promotion and put him against Hershel Fucking Walker, on a main card, televised on showtime. He had no chance, and he knew he had no chance.
I give him credit for taking the fight, but I agree with you Craig15, it was such a gimme fight for Walker. I would have liked to see how he fared against real competition.
"Why am I here? Why does my mind have wings? Why do blue midgets hit me with fish?!" - The Tick
you not seem understand....you no listen....
if randy coture or chuck liddell suddenly decide they want to play for the atlanta vikings or the chicago jets, or whatever they are called, would you play them in there first game against the tampa bay dolphins??? i don’t think so…
by freedomthrtyfve on Jan 31, 2010 2:45 PM EST up reply actions
Who pissed in your Corn Flakes Craig?
You sure do have a lot to say about a promotion you care very little about. Walker is a big name, they tried to find comparable competition for him. Seriously though, why would you hate on this so much? It was his FIRST FIGHT! How the hell would Strikeforce know what level of competition he should face? It’s not like anyone thought Walker was going to be a world beater. They’re not building him up, he may not even fight again, so why the hell would they risk so much by fixing a fight? If you hate it that much, don’t watch. Pretty simple. There were some other fights on the card that were pretty good too.
"You can observe a lot just by watching."-Yogi Berra
The analogy freedomthrtyfve used is ridiculous. I get your attempt at humor with the team names, but the analogy is rough, at best.
If Strikeforce put some crap-level fighter in with Walker who was a Strikeforce fighter, I’m fine with that. They didn’t do that. They went outside their organization, to the lowly ranks of Rage in the Cage, to find someone bad enough to put in there with him. This allowed them to have Walker fight someone who had MMA experience, albeit limited.
If you don’t see that Strikeforce did some careful planning putting that fight together, in order to give Walker his greatest chance of winning against a “real MMA fighter”, you just get the sport very much.
Walker against any crappy fighter affiliated with Strikeforce, maybe from the Challengers Series = acceptable.
Walker against a fighter from the bottom of the barrel of a crappy organization = that’s lame.
you are a homo and have no idea what you are talking about
any fight fan could tell Hershel brought it. "Can " or not his style was good and his gas tank was better. who would you suggest he fight in his debut? Fedor?
His style was good? Have you read any pro commentary on his fight? He could’ve finished the fight several times if he knew what he were doing. He concentrated on wrist control too much instead of locking in a fight ending submission. He got the mount a couple times, but got too high each time. His standup looked awful. He was stiff and his footwork looked horrible. Yeah, he’s got great cardio. He has strength. He knows some stuff, but he’s got a lot of work to do.
This will be a ridiculous statement to most, and I would’ve thought it was a ridiculous statement a year ago, but Kimbo would own Walker, and Kimbo isn’t any good. But, his standup is good and improving. His ground game has sucked but he’s pickin up a little here and there.
Walker isn’t ready for a big name, and I dont expect him to fight a big name. As I said both times, my problem with this fight is the fact Strikeforce felt the need to go outside their own organization to find a fighter bad enough to put in the ring with Walker. That’s crap.
Read this, then get back to me: http://www.fightline.com/fl/news/2010/0131/480763/strikeforce-miami/index.shtml
Nagy was 1-1, Walker 0-0. How is Nagy a can?
When did Strikeforce say, “We’re trying to compete with the UFC?” I doubt their idea of success is how well they stack up to the UFC. Their idea of success is sustaining and growing a profitable business. It’s theirs to lose.
The complaints about Nagy being a “can” are silly at best. Walker was equally a “can,” no? Can against can, if I follow your logic. So, it was a theoretical cancellation of can-ness.
by MMACrossfire on Jan 31, 2010 3:35 PM EST up reply actions
for a first fight that was immpressive
don’t care about the oppponent, give the bloke some credit, who did anderson silva, dan henderson, etc etc fight in their first fight, this fight has brought so much more to our beloved sport, because he did well, it wasn’t a freak show, and even if he never fights again, he has brought a wider audience to the sport. will the guy ever do anything in the sport? i think we all have our ideas……….but if he does, i hope he has a film deal
by freedomthrtyfve on Jan 31, 2010 2:02 PM EST reply actions
Walker looked good for his debut.
He didn’t gas like a lot of heavy weights do.
i would have liked to see him on the last ultimate fighter, seriously...
by freedomthrtyfve on Jan 31, 2010 2:35 PM EST up reply actions
Not to be disrespectful
I have seen better action at the Special Olympics. Truth.
The bigger question should be: What was GSP doing there?
by TapedUpPair on Jan 31, 2010 5:04 PM EST via mobile up reply actions
No doubt
No doubt he is a fan Sarah. I wonder how papa white feels about GSP adding credibility to this production. GSP is not being the good company man.
by TapedUpPair on Jan 31, 2010 7:56 PM EST via mobile up reply actions
best way to make a company better..
is to have improved competition..i dunno why it’s so bad..dana surely can’t have him in the pocket that much..hmmmm
cyborg would probably beat uriah......
i’ve allready lodged the court for a restraining order, just incase she decides to take me as her man toy thing, can you imagine what she could do on pmt, i’ve just fainted thinking about it, from very scared in sunderland…
by freedomthrtyfve on Jan 31, 2010 3:44 PM EST up reply actions
Must agree
HAHAHAHA. She totally would.
by MMA-Supplements on Jan 31, 2010 4:27 PM EST up reply actions
Hope he got it out of his system...
so we don’t have to sit through that again. Fights like that (0-0 vs. 1-1) are normally scheduled for the under card for a reason.
Anyone know if there is a comp-u-strike graph for this fight? I don’t think Nagy threw more than 3 punches the entire fight.
I wonder if he'll pass his post fight drug test
Confucius says:
"Baseball is wrong: man with four balls cannot walk."
I am so confused..
by his last name. How is that pronounced “nudge”? Good thing Hersel didn’t get thrown off by that, I know I would. I thought it was pronounced NA-GY. Also, I wonder if we will start to see other fighters attack the arm pits? Apparently they are pretty vulnerable.
I'm Very Proud
of Herschel Walker. He isnt trying to be the HW’s hugest star, he just wants to compete. I loved it.
Comments For This Post Are Closed
Secondary Sidebar
User Tools
Related FanPosts on MMAmania.com
Related FanShots on MMAmania.com
FanPosts
Community blog posts and discussion.
Certain photos copyright © 2012 by Associated Press or Getty Images. Any commercial use or distribution without the express written consent of Associated Press and Getty Images is strictly prohibited.
