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The pitfalls of signing Herschel Walker to an MMA contract
By Zach Arnold | September 21, 2009
The upside is obvious for Strikeforce — they are already getting mentions this morning on ESPN for signing the 47-year old former NFL star.
The downsides are obvious, too — he’s an older fighter who is no Randy Couture. It also comes off as a cheap publicity stunt, even if Walker is a serious athlete who really is into fighting. Furthermore, Walker is known to have health issues and he could suffer some legitimate physical damage in a fight.
There’s more downside than upside to this move. I suppose in the eyes of Strikeforce it’s a low-risk move because if Walker loses, hey, he’s 47 and a rookie. If he wins, then he’s a star and has football credibility to bring to the table. They better hope that he doesn’t get hurt in the cage.
Meanwhile, while Walker is entering MMA, Frank Trigg is making his exit.
Topics: Media, MMA, StrikeForce, Zach Arnold | 47 Comments » | Permalink | Trackback |
If he wins, I think it will really show the level of competition in Strikeforce that an old, small, inexperienced heavyweight can step right into their organization.
That level is very low, by the way.
I’ve seen the light and now agree with Ivan, Alan and some of the other posters. Strikeforce is always right. UFC is always wrong. Therefore Zach this is great. Please don’t be a UFC shrill. (sarcasm intended, I hate when people do that).
This is clearly a cheap publicity stunt. It is timed to get the company name out there after the announcement of the Fedor fight.
Walker is a great athlete and he is very intelligent so he could be a great spokesman fo the sport. My only question is why wait until now?
There is a fair criticism of Strikeforce for essentially doing celebrity MMA. This is no different than Jose Canseco fighting. I always liked watching him run the ball. I’ll be interested to see him fight.
Zach,
Strikeforce may be thinking that they will cross the “licensing bridge” when the come to it.
LOL I love how I am a Strikeforce lover in spite of writing more negative things about the promotion over the last two years than just about everyone else combined. You guys slay me. If only they were still on HDNet and running really crappy cards in front of a half filled Shark Tank, I’d still be hearing the tired garbage about them “building properly”.
I liked Herschel Walker the football player. Thought he got a bum rap for the Minnesota trade and wished he got a ring when he came back to Dallas. That he is fighting in MMA? Train wreck. Canseco was comic relief because it was a bit of a comeuppance for a complete jerk who was blamed (and took the blame proudly! until in front of congress) for throwing baseball’s last decade into disrepute.
This, meanwhile, is tragic. I hope none of the athletic commissions approve him.
This is Strikeforce’s answer to Danny Bonaduce wrestling in TNA
I’m amazed how Det. Roadblock manages to make this into some weird Strikeforce vs. UFC issue and he’s the martyr who gets slayed for supplying the “straight talk”.
It’s a horrible decision, and a horrible publicity stunt because the people who remember who he is are probably too old to be in MMA’s demo. And it’s maybe worse than Jose Canseco in DREAM, although we’ll have to wait and see who they have him fight before that gets decided. If they feed him a can a few times just for his name value, Jose vs. Choi was worse, but if they give him a legit opponent this is worse.
But before the Danabots get too animated about “THIS IS WHY STRIKEFORCE IS A JOKE!” realize your favorite MMA promotion is holding a show with several ex-NFL players and one of your biggest stars is also 47 years old. Not only is he 47 years old and a main eventer who lost twice in a row, but he’ll probably fight Machida for the LHW strap if he beats Vera.
FWIW – This is just a terrible, terrible idea…Coker showing his regional promoter roots here – that type of thing might fly in the sticks (ala Sapp vs. Nortje) but for a supposed national promotion with the world’s #1 HW, it’s a credibility damaging move.
Mark,
The UFC’s 47 year old, main eventer is also an extremely accomplished wrestler (one of the best foundational disciplines for mma), a five-time champion UFC, one of the legends of the sport and has been fighting in mma for well over a decade.
Strikeforce’s 47 year old has nil experience, played football professionally over a decade ago and…..
He’s a 47 year old who is going to be given easier fights than Kimbo in Elite. The thought of a 47 year old being 1-2 after a yearlong lay off fighting the greatest LHW in the world is more pathetic. You’ll have a point if they put Walker against Fedor.
Herschel was at the UFC Saturday.
I love Strikeforce, this is a horrible idea. I know that no publicity is supposed to be bad publicity, but wow.
You’re making a lot of assumptions. Wait until after Couture beats Vera, and if he gets a title shot after that, then maybe you’ll have a point.
For now, Couture is 0-2 after a year-long layoff when he beat Gonzaga and Sylvia (Couture at 45-46 was still very good, couture at 47 is ?) and he’s fighting Vera, who is a mediocre top 20 LHW. Looks to me like Randy is right where he should be.
Also, having 4 ex-NFL players with actual pro MMA fights on a season of TUF is world’s different than signing 47 year-old Walker with no experience to fight on a real card.
I think Randy needs to retire, but there’s no question or doubt that he is a more credible fighter than Herschel Walker at comparable ages. Christ. Dan Severn is like 51 and more credible than Walker will ever be.
Coker showing his regional promoter roots here – that type of thing might fly in the sticks (ala Sapp vs. Nortje) but for a supposed national promotion with the world’s #1 HW, it’s a credibility damaging move.
Coker has no capability to see the big picture. None. Every time you think maybe he can think outside the scope of local carnie, he dashes back into that hole with something astoundingly stupid. At least going this route he’ll flame out fast instead of forcing the world to see Southworth/Ruiz VI.
I’ll use my psychic powers to tell you what’s going to happen.
Walker will fight at 205 against people nobody has ever heard of and looks terrible. Strikeforce will anticipate huge press but they don’t get much press except for the odd “how sad was that?” hand-wringing column and never bring him back. The sports media feels extra sad that he had to go to their most hated sport for a pay day so they take up a collection fund for him out of pity.
Randy will beat Vera in a very boring decision. Goldberg will climax in his pants as he bellows “CAPTAIN AMERICA IS BACK!!!” and Rogan will have to hide his erection when he goes into the Octagon to interview Couture. They’ll pretend like Brandon Vera mattered, that the fight wasn’t Randy taking him down and laying on him for 15 minutes and that Couture is back, better than ever and ready to beat Machida. Why you ask? Because he never should have left 205, he feels better than fighting at 218. What? You caught on that he only fights when a division is depleted? We don’t know what you’re talking about.
What? You remember Chuck Liddell knocking him out repeatedly at 205? Hey, that was when he was 42, he has life experience that makes him better at 47. His damn 8th wife was ragging on him about quitting so he couldn’t concentrate properly. Divorcing his 9th wife (you know, that wannabe fighter) ruined his concentration against Brock and he had a really nasty argument after running in by chance to his 5th (or was it his 3rd?) wife while in Portland before Nogueira manhandled him. But it’s all good now. And quite frankly, since he pays 90% of his income in various alimony payments to 9 women you’ve got to root for him! Of course he’ll marry wife #10 3 days before fighting Machida so he’ll have an excuse for that loss, too. Anything but age. The only thing that dries up the fountain of youth is a shrew at home.
I’d like to see Trigg take one more fight in the UFC before he decides to retire. No shame in getting blasted by Kos who is top 5 in the division.
He won’t get the chance – UFC wants to cut him.
Already? Did they really expect him to beat Josh Koscheck? I don’t remember anybody picking Trigg to win the fight.
I can go along with the first paragraph. The second one? No. I see this playing out:
-Randy is KOed brutally in the second round, proving that Vera is only capable with incapable opposition. After the fight, he is asked about retirement, at which point he says that he needs to “sit down and think about it”. A couple weeks after asking his accountant how much Xtreme Couture merch was sitting in an old shipping container somewhere outside Henderson, NV, Randy announces he will continue fighting.
As the UFC does not want to waste the opportunity, Randy is given the task of fighting Kimbo Slice at UFC 111. Ivan Trembow is outraged. I laugh at the absurdity. 45 Huddle explodes in ecstasy. Mike Rome blogs about how Randy’s attorneys have informed him that he is in the best shape of his life and that this is going to be a big run for the title. Dave Meltzer cites the Ric Flair/Junkyard Dog program as evidence of the potential of the fight. The shock of the fight causes Jeff Sherwood to have congestive heart failure.
The fight itself goes as expected; Randy wades through looping bombs, deposits Kimbo on his back, batters him for awhile and wins. Having returned to his winning ways, again, Randy is asked about retirement, and instead walks in a 270lb Chuck Liddell, who has let himself go after an early departure from Dancing With The Stars. Dana announces that they’re pursuing the 4th installment of the grudge match for a future card, UFC 116: Why Not?
They brought in Trigg because he’s a name, because he was willing and wanted to be there, and to lose. Really. You think Baroni is coming back to really get pushed to a title fight?
Ugh, 47 years old is not when one should be starting a career in MMA.
from Trigg’s twitter: “I think there is a mistake. IF the UFC drops me I will retire, as of right now I’m still with the UFC looking for my next fight. …..”
So I guess he’s not dropped.
How can you guys be calling this a publicity stunt.
“This isn’t a publicity stunt or a gimmick,” Afromowitz said.
I mean, this is a quote from someone who isn’t Dana, so it must be true, right?
Does anyone care to explain the whole “Couture/BE/Rome” meme that I’ve seen eluded to on this site several times recently? Is there something I’m missing…?
I don’t know why it is out of the question for Randy to be granted a title shot against Machida if he beats Vera (and I think he will.) With Dana now saying Rampage-Evans isn’t happening until March or April, who is there for Machida to fight? If he beats Shogun, he’s not going to wait until summer 2010 to fight again. So who else is there? Forrest is out of the question, Tito would be a terrible choice with 1 win over Coleman since Machida beat him last, Jon Jones isn’t ready, both Anderson Silva and Rogerio Nogueira train with him. It’s Randy (or Vera) or nothing.
In the perfect world Luis Arthur Cane should get crack at Machida before Couture, but if Rogerio beats him I don’t have much problem with Machida vs. Couture (obviously if he beats Vera).
Phil gets it!
Gaijin, you can’t have it both ways. Strikeforce became the darling of the internet for standing up to the big bad UFC and Dana White.
Meanwhile, almost everything Strikeforce does is gimmicky. Fedor is going to fight bums. Gimmicky. Jake Shields vs Mayhem Miller for a championship belt. Gimmicky. Gina Carano vs Cyborg. Super Gimmicky. Hershel Walker. Gimmicky. The way they handled Jay Hieron. Atrocious.
I half expect them to announce Billy Ray Cyrus vs John Wayne Bobbit for their next show.
It’s a promotion full of meaningless fights that so far haven’t even been that good and everyone acts like Strikeforce is awesome.
If he beats Vera, no matter how, of course its not without reason. That said, how on earth does he beat Machida?
I think the only way Randy beats Vera is by an excruciatingly boring fight. Does Randy still have the fan base that is going to love him even when he just lays on his opponent and peppers him with elbows?
To me Vera should be nowhere near the top of the UFC 205lb division.
I’d rather see Forrest fight Machida or the Tito/Coleman winner. I can’t believe I just said that.
They should do Franklin vs Forrest at 205 and let Machida whup on the winner. Or let Henderson fight Machida. Although I think Shogun will beat Machida so just swap Shogun in all those other fights. Or you could do Shogun vs Evans while you wait for Rampage or do the Shogun/Griffin rematch.
Couture has more of a fan base than Cane and Rogerio Nogueira that’s for sure. (Although lots of people watching are going to think Rodrigo Nogueira dropped to 205 so maybe that will help him.)
UFC fans are suckers for Randy. They spazz out just like Rogan everytime he does something in a fight. They’ll keep enabling his UFC stay even though he wore out his welcome. Even if he does win he’s 1-2. When Liddell was going to be 2-2 if he beat Rashad to get a title shot people were pissed, but 1-2 and 47 is acceptable?
The only other option might be if Coleman beats Tito to give him the title shot. I guess being 45 and 2-2 is a little better, right?
He has taken over Hunt’s role as Randy’s unofficial internet publicist it seems. He broke the news of the Vera fight. He must be bragging about a Randy connection to have it turned into a meme, but I don’t know because I don’t read BE. (I don’t like feeling nauseated by smugness.)
So Mr. Walker is a sixth degree black belt, eh? I guess under the ATA (American Taekwondo Association)? The ATA doesn’t exactly have a great track record of legitimate testing, or over-seeing good TKD. I want to know who tested him and what were the conditions for testing. And I hope his grappling experience isn’t entirely made up of three point stance tackles and slapping the asses of his team mates. Would that be called the “good game jime”?
All kidding aside, this is a border-line retarded stunt by Strikeforce. They might as well form a partnership with TNA wrestling while they’re at it.
Roadblock;
How is the Jason “Mayhem” Miller vs. Jake Shields fight for the vacant middleweight title gimmicky? I think that’s a good fight to make. You think they are doing it to cash in on Bully Beatdown?
Having Pacman Jones in a fight where all he’s allowed to do is throw a football at somebodies balls like the TNA spot would propel Strikeforce past the UFC instantly.
Couture will get a title shot against the winner of Machida/Rua if he beats Vera. It’s very simple. His time is running out, and this will be one of the last times they can pull it off. Vera is the perfect opponent for him to get a title shot for beating because he lacks a killer instinct and strength. This is not my justifying it. Couture should not be anywhere near a title shot until he retires. He lacks the reflex skills to beat the top guys now.
As for H. Walker…. That signing is an absolute joke. I understand why Strikeforce is doing it. Heck, the UFC did basically the same thing with 4 NFL guys on TUF. The major difference is the experience and age. Being 47 for your pro debut is something that should not be part of the #2 American MMA company.
As for Strikeforce, I agree with Mr. Roadblock. They are doing some garbage things. Strikeforce is trying to implement the same strategy that worked in San Jose and do it on the national stage. That isn’t going to work.
All Strikeforce cards feel like are a bunch of random names and fighters coming together for a card.
These are probably the “top level” heavyweights Fedor and his management want to fight. LOL, what a joke. Hasn’t it become obvious by now that the reason Fedor never signed with the UFC is case he knew he’d lose and with it any marketability he had.
Does anyone really think Strikeforces heavyweight jokes can match up to UFC’s roster of Lesnar, Carwin, Velasquez, Mir, Nogueira, Dos Santos, Kongo, Buentello, Duffee, Barry, etc.
Chuck, absolutely. I agree it’s an interesting matchup. Bu how do you have Mayhem fighting for a title? He is a journeyman at best. Jacare would be more deserving of the shot. I myself can’t stand Mayhem or his act. I think his foghtig style also leaves a lot to be desired. But his ground defense could five Shields fits.
Still he isn’t championship material. It’s just trying to get his MTV viewers to tune into CBS.
Get over it Roadblock,
The Nov 7th card on CBS is going to be fantastic. The televised portion will be excellent filled with all top notch talent. The Challenger cards are filled with a lot of prospects and talent like Tyron Woodley and Paul Bradley. Not to mention the female GPs that are coming up for 135 lbs and 145 lbs.
I don’t know about everyone else but I am enjoying what Strikeforce is doing.
Roadblock,
WTF are you even talking about? Having it both ways? I called Coker a bush league regional promoter and the Walker stunt pure trash.
Quit playing the martyr card on my account.
“filled with top notch talent”
Fedor and Jake Shields could probably hang with the top guys in UFC. Though Shields at 170 not 185. Rogers I don’t think would do so well. Mayhem would struggle to stay on TV. He got cut his last time in UFC.
I wouldn’t call Paul Bradley a prospect or a talent. He’s just got beat up by Mike Pierce and noone is saying that Mike Pierce is a prospect.
Yeah, Mayhem was cut by UFC after ONE fight, which happened to be a decision loss to GSP. I guess the entire Welterweight division deserves to be cut, if we’re making that comparison as a standard of a fighter’s UFC worthiness.
Based on Jason Miller’s performances against Miura and Souza…. He is definitely not top level. He probably should be competing aty Welterweight anyways as he is not powerful enough for Middleweight. Him getting a title shot after his last 3 fights were a loss, win, and nc…. Is kind of a joke. Especially since his win wasn’t against anybody in the Top 25.
As for Paul Bradley…. As somebody pointed out above, he lost to Mike Pierce recently. And is Mike Pierce isn’t even Top 15 in the UFC’s Welterweight Division.
I love it how anybody of any name recognition or barely any potential becomes an automatic prospect in Strikeforce. But isn’t this the story that plays out over and over again.
The story with Mayhem quickly leaving the UFC was always he rubbed a lot of people the wrong way, not they thought he gave a poor performance. The fight was highly entertaining and otherwise they would have brought him back at least one more time. And then he pissed Zuffa off again a few years later by trying to force his way on camera attention Today Show crowd style while they were filming celebrities in the audience.
Didn’t he ask for his release from the WEC and was granted it as well?
His contract was with the WFA, and I don’t remember the particulars. My memory seems to remember it being a nonexclusive since he already had a 15 fight contract with Icon Sport, so his release was basically a no brainer. The UFC has mentioned bringing him in a number of times before the GSP fight and since, so I think the issue is money. He’s big enough that he can command good checks for fighting nobodies and doing reality TV, but he’s not big enough to demand 6 figure guarantees and title fights. No reason for him financially to head to the UFC whatsoever. Strikeforce handing him a world title is proof of that.
I really like Mayhem vs. Shields. Jacare should probably get it first, but it’s not like that there any other more deserving fighters than Miller. He poses an interesting challenge for Jake and has some mainstream appeal.