What Herschel Walker is doing is simply incredible. The 48-year-old has two pro MMA fights under his belt and plans on marching forward. On Saturday, He manhandled Scott Carson. While most fans realize Walker is bringing more eyes to the sport, some hardcore fans and MMA bloggers rip him, calling his competition a joke.
Luke Thomas from Bloody Elbow disagrees:
Strikeforce is handling Walker's MMA career exactly as they should be. The idea that only fighters of certain caliber belong in elite organizations is now a rule of thumb, not a sacred edict. If exceptions to the rule make sense - particularly for a number two promotion looking for a unique leg up - then make them.
[...] Walker is taking a path no different than any other MMA fighter with commensurate experience. The pushback on Walker is as much pushback against Walker's participation in the sport as it is a lack of familiarity with low-level professional MMA.
Fight promotions are part competition, part making money and part building the business. That fact seems to be lost on some observers of MMA.
I often wonder how many of those who decry Walker's participation have ever attended a regional MMA event. Those fights lack the superstar power of Walker, but look no different. They're nasty, brutish and often very short. Perhaps this is part of the reason why local or regional MMA promoters often struggle: not even MMA fans are paying attention to their shows.
During a weekend light on big-time sporting events, Walker caught the eye of the non-MMA fan and general sports media.
Several journalists and fans noted on Twitter last night that many if not all of the main card participants in last night's show were trending on Twitter. Who do you think is responsible for that, Jacare? The mic skills of Robbie Lawler? Roger Gracie's massive pre-fight hype? That credit belongs to Herschel Walker and likely Herschel Walker alone. No one else to my knowledge had a write-up in the Associated Press heading into the bout or the sporting talk radio hype or the curiosity of casual sporting fans. [...] Critics often say it's the "real fighters" who deserve the shine. I don't disagree, but much of the attention paid to last night's "real fighters" is a direct result of a fighter participating in only his second MMA bout.
Well said. The sport is still in the growth process. As long as Walker isn't promoted as a title contender, his MMA journey is well worth chronicling on Showtime.
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