No Publicity Stunt: Herschel Walker States Why His MMA Career Is Serious

Herschel Walker is very different.

Maybe it’s his eating habits. Maybe it’s his sleeping habits. Or maybe it’s his training habits.

But make no mistake, Herschel Walker is a different kind of athlete.

For breakfast, Walker eats...well...nothing. The former Heisman Trophy winner does not have any food until the evening. When dinner time comes, Walker skips right by the meat and fish section. His typical meal consists of just soup, salad, and bread.

Sleeping is almost an afterthought. The normal person should sleep seven to eight hours per night. Walker? He sleeps only four.

Time spent lifting weights in the gym? Zero. As a superstar football player with just two percent body fat, Walker appears to be the product of many hours spent pressing barbells. Nothing could be further from reality. Walker never visits any weight training facility. Instead, he stays home and completes over 1,000 push-ups and sit-ups daily.

Nevertheless, Walker’s unusual day-to-day rituals led to a very celebrated football career.

First, he starred at the University of Georgia, and he was later elected to the College Football Hall of Fame. Then, he was the face of the New Jersey Generals in the ill-fated USFL and finally, he was a star running back in the NFL (mainly with the Dallas Cowboys).

Now at 47, Walker is set to embark on an entirely new career. He is just days away from his first professional mixed martial arts fight.

A few high-profile athletes have attempted the same transition in the past few years with disastrous results—notably Jose Canseco and Johnnie Morton. They did not last a combined two minutes in their debuts. Neither man ever stepped into battle again.

“I’m a different athlete than some of the other athletes that got into the sport for the wrong reason,” Walker said, alluding to the fact that Canseco and Morton only wanted a payday. “I got into the sport because I love it and because I have the understanding to do it.”

In order to prove to himself and the world that he is taking this seriously, Walker signed up for one of the most celebrated training camps in the sport.

“The first thing I had to do was find a good gym,” Walker said. “That’s why I went out to AKA in San Jose and started training there. The trainers gave me the blessing to fight.”

Walker’s first opponent is the unheralded Greg Nagy. Nagy enters the cage with 1-1 record and the odds makers are definitely not impressed with him. The novice Walker is listed as a 1:3 favorite over Nagy.

To his credit, Walker is not taking anything for granted.

“Greg Nagy has been fighting for a little while,” Walker said when analyzing his opponent. “He has a 1-1 record, and he’s more of a veteran than I am. He’s a tough kid.

“He’s going to get in there and want to brawl, and that will make it a good fight. It will show that I am a fighter and that I didn’t just pick anyone.”

With his high profile debut, Walker has had to deal with some difficult questions. The most obvious one has to do with his age. Walker’s first fight will come at a time when most fighters are years into retirement.

“It’s sad that everyone wants to bring up the age thing, but I’m still in condition to do it,” Walker said. “It’s one fight at a time. It’s hard to say how long I’ll be here. As you know, my age is a little different than anyone else’s.”

Besides age, Walker also has to deal with another issue. In his biography Breaking Free (released in 2008), Walker admitted to having suffered from Dissociative Identity Disorder.  The illness is more commonly known as Multiple Personality Disorder.

“I went through that years ago,” Walker said. “People think the book was just yesterday. I’m glad it was in the book though. It has helped me open up hospitals and help a lot of people.”

Walker has already cleared any potential hurdles about his prior condition.

“Yes, I am,” Walker said, when asked if he was licensed. “I went down to Florida and did all the medicals.”

Not everyone has been impressed with Walker’s unusual venture into MMA. UFC President Dana White referred to the debut as “ridiculous” and a “freakshow.”

Obviously, Walker has a much different opinion.

“I think Dana is just worried that he’s not the only show in town,” Walker said. “You think about what he said yet he got a bunch of football players on his show (referring to Matt Mitrione, Brandon Schaub, and Marcus Jones appearing on the previous season of The Ultimate Fighter) .

“I don’t worry about what someone else says. Besides, some of things he says I can’t even listen to. I have to cover my ears.”

Throughout his long athletic career, Walker has dealt with many other critics as well. In the NFL, he was once traded from the Cowboys to the Vikings in a deal SI.com referred to as the worst sports trade of all-time.

Therefore, White’s comments are not likely to rattle Walker. The other naysayers who believe that Walker is too old or that Walker does not have enough experience will only motivate the former all-pro running back to do better.

"A lot of great people have gone out and done things that everyone else thought was crazy. I just want to show people that if you have a dream, you don't give up on it."