It seems that more and more athletes and celebrities are joining MMA. Some of them are doing well. Jason Frank, better known as the Green Power Ranger from the children’s television series, won his first fight this year. Former MLB player Jose Canseco was one of the first big-name, former athletes to join MMA and is a big proponent of the sport. The latest big name to join is former NFL great Herschel Walker.
Walker signed a multi-fight deal with Strikeforce and competed in his first professional fight in January against Greg Nagy. Walker won by TKO after training in San Jose, CA with the American Kickboxing Academy. The former Heisman trophy winner has long been into martial arts and is a sixth-degree black belt in tae kwon do. He had his best football days with the Dallas Cowboys and ranks 7th on the NFL’s all time list for combined net yards. He stayed active after retiring from the NFL and even made the 1992 Olympic 2-man bobsled team that finished 7th at the games. Despite his martial arts background, he only recently began to train in MMA.
Walker has been criticized for making a mockery of the sport like many other former athletes and celebrities but he is up to the challenge, even donating his fight purse to charity. At age 47, he’s past contention to become an MMA champion, but is still in incredible shape and said he will be able to keep up with the younger fighters. Strikeforce will use him as a special attraction to supplement other matches but Walker wants to be taken seriously. Some former players like Canseco enter the sport too early without any previous training and suffer. Walker enters MMA with some knowledge and professional football is one of the most demanding team sports so he shouldn’t be taken lightly.
Canseco has come out saying that he wants a crack at Walker and has promised to “kill” him. The former MLB player has made some outlandish statements in his past so he can’t always be taken seriously. In any case, it would make for a good fight so I’m sure we’ll see them on a card soon.