Walt Harris plans to show why he is one of the most well-rounded heavyweights in the game at UFC San Antonio

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I was able to talk with Walt “The Big Ticket” Harris who is currently ranked #15 in the heavyweight division coming off first round knockout of Serghei Spivac at UFC Fight Night in Ottawa. We talked about his nickname, his days as basketball player, what led to him becoming a mixed martial artist, his upcoming fight against Aleksei Oleynik, and much more.

I asked Walt how did he come up with the nickname the Big Ticket, I thought it was a tribute to Kevin Garnett but I was wrong. Walt’s mom gave him the idea of his nickname because she believed in him so much. She told him he would sell out arenas hence the name the Big Ticket.

Walt was a big-time baller at Jacksonville State with aspirations of making it to the NBA. He was the player of the year in his conference and was invited to numerous NBA camps, but could never get his break. He said during this time his weight had ballooned to 310 pounds. One morning, he woke up hungover and decided he need a new path so he started pursuing the fight game in MMA.

“I wasn’t in a good place mentally and had some family issues.”

Harris was signed to the UFC in 2013, but after and 0-2 start, he was released. Walt stated that his first fight he felt like he had won, even though the judges saw it another way. His second fight with the UFC he shared he was a 4-1 favorite, however, he ended up getting clipped and lost via KO.

“The Big Ticket” then signed with Florida based promotion Titan FC in 2014, where he faced D.J. Linderman at Titan FC 28 on May 16, 2014. Linderman had never been finished in his career, but on this night, he lost to Walt via first-round knockout. The UFC came calling again November 2014.

I asked Walt what did he learn from his release and he stated, “I had to get some things in his life squared away and my release forced me to become a more rounded fighter. I knew I couldn’t go into every fight hoping to win by knockout.”

We touched on his battle with California State Athletic Commission after his fight with Andrei Arlovski. Harris had a test come back positive for Ostarine. He was able to prove the positive test resulted from a tainted supplement and the commission did not believe he had done this intentionally, gave him a four-month suspension. However, the fight against Arlovski was changed to a “no contest.”

When asked if he wanted to run the fight back with Arlovski, Walt said “No! There is no reason for me to go backwards, we both know what happened in that fight. I want to fight in fights that would put me in the championship picture moving forward.”

Recently, it was announced that he would be taking on Aleksei Oleynik at UFC Fight Night: San Antonio on July 20. This fight was originally scheduled for May 4th but fell through. That may have been a blessing in disguise as Oleynik is now ranked #9 in the division. A win would put Walt in the top 10. When asked about his thoughts on this fight, he said, “we have a plan in place and we will get to training.”

“I will showcase all my skills in this fight and show why I am one of the most well-rounded heavyweights in the game today.”

We then talked about the upcoming fight between Daniel Cormier and Stipe Miocic. Harris stated that he expected this fight to be a good fight this time around with DC out to prove why he is the champ and Stipe will be out to show people his loss to DC was a fluke. He went on to share with me a personal story about DC. Walt was offered a short notice fight against Fabricio Werdum. Walt was contemplating on whether to take the fight or not, DC grabbed him and said, “what are you doing, you need to take this fight, this is an opportunity.” Walt took the fight and to this day he says he is indebted to DC for inspiring him and showing belief in him.

Some fun questions to close out interview:

If you could fight any fighter, past or present, who would you fight and why?
“Randy Couture because he says Randy is a legend and he respected his fighting style.”

One has to go: GSP, DC, Jon Jones or Conor McGregor? And why?
“GSP because he has taken things from the other three to add to his game. He shouted out Conor for changing the game as far as fighter’s pay and the way he talked trash to garner attention.”

Alabama or Auburn?
“Roll Tide all day!”

What will be his walkout song for his next fight?
Undecided. But I advised him to walk out to, “It’s a Vibe” by 2 Chainz since his new camp has a saying “1 Tribe, 1 Vibe.”

Who would win the NBA title this year?
“Golden State in 6.”

____
Make sure to follow The Scrap News (@thescrapnews) on Twitter.
Follow our writer Lee Brown (@Levanstian757).



About Post Author

Lee Brown

The Scrap's Lee Brown is a 22-year Air Force Vet, fan of all sports - especially UFC, NFL & NBA, and cohost of Lee N Keys Real Talk Podcast. You can follow Lee on Twitter (<a href="http://www.twitter.com/Levanstian757">@Levanstian757</a>) and Instagram (<a href="http://www.twitter.com/Va121Lee7">@Va121Lee</a>).
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