Valter
Walker has addressed Sharabutdin
Magomedov’s repeated fouls in his last fight against Michel
Pereira.
Having shared the mats with the unorthodox Russian striker, Walker
is well aware of his propensity to be creative offensively, even if
it means violating rules and committing fouls.
Advertisement
Sharabutdin ‚Shara Bullet‘ Magomedov’s history of alleged
fouls, according to Valter Walker
In the aftermath of the Magomedov vs. Pereira co-headlining bout at
UFC Baku, Walker discussed Magomedov’s tendency to grab hair,
having previously trained with the Russian. In an interview with
the Brazilian channel Sexto Round, the heavyweight revealed that he
started shaving his head after he began training in Russia.
“Women are the ones who should have long hair; at GOR
MMA, everyone is bald for a reason. When I had long hair, every
time I trained with Shara, he would pull my hair and knee me in the
face while holding onto it. I’d tell Coach Gor (Azizyan), and he’d
applaud Shara—mostly because Shara is his favorite son. I think
that’s really wrong, and it was one of the reasons I shaved my
head,” Walker recalled.
He further revealed that the Russian’s eye poke on Pereira wasn’t
an isolated incident. Citing a humorous reason for Magomedov’s
repeated fouls, Walker added:
“I think everyone has a fetish. For example, in my case, I have
ugly feet, so I end up wanting to break other people’s feet. Shara
is missing an eye; I think he sticks his fingers in people’s eyes
because he wants to blind them. There’s a psychological reason for
it, but I’m not a psychologist, so I couldn’t explain exactly what
it is.”
When asked about whether he believes illegal practices like
hair-pulling and eye-poking should be reprimanded in the gym,
Walker answered:
“Coach Gor always taught us that the shame of war is losing the
war. In war, anything goes. These Russians are crazy; I’m in the
minority here — I’m Brazilian — so if I talk too much, the guys
might cut me. There’s not much I can do.”