Sign up for ESPN+ right here, and you can then stream the UFC live on your smart TV, computer, phone, tablet or streaming device via the ESPN app. Returning from a personal tragedy, Ultimate Fighting Championship heavyweight contender Walt Harris is ready for anything that will be thrown his way.
The last fighter to come out to Virtual Media Day, Harris sat down maskless and looked at the screen to exclaim “Pop-up video” in reference to the popular VH1 music video series from the late 1990s. The same series also provided inspiration for the popular “Fight Facts” series running on Sherdog.
From there, Harris was ready to dive into discussion about his heavyweight headliner tilt against Alistair Overeem, for whom he admitted he has had his sights set on for a long time.
“Excitement,” Harris answered as to how he was feeling about this matchup. “I think it’s been a long time coming. It’s been a fight I’ve been looking forward [to] since I was an amateur. I’ve watched Overeem for a long time. [It’s] Something I’ve always worked for and worked towards.”
Harris then touched on a topic that he got into further as the interview progressed: the passing of his stepdaughter Aniah Blanchard.
“I faced something no father should ever face,” he stated. “I’m gonna go in there and perform, and let the chips fall where they may.”
A win over a name like Overeem, who is the ninth-ranked heavyweight on the Sherdog.com rankings, would vault him into top-10 consideration and beyond.
“I see it being one fight away [from a title],” he explained. “I always pride myself in being a company man. If the UFC wants me to step up and take an interim title…I’m so ready for whatever. I’m ready to fight whoever the division has to offer. I’m a bad matchup for all of those guys. It’s my time to shine.”
Harris cautioued Overeem to take him lightly, and is ready to deal with what the former Strikeforce and Dream champ throws at him.
“From Overeem, I’m gonna see a guy who’s gonna try to grind me, try to grapple, try to hang on,” Harris predicted. “You’re gonna see the same me, explosive…athletic…I’ve been laser sharp since the tragedy. My daughter is with me wherever I go. He’s gonna be facing a dangerous man for sure.”
“The Big Ticket” credits the community as a whole for giving him support during this incredibly difficult period.
“It gets me out of bed in the morning,” he was glad to say. “The community has been amazing. It makes for a dangerous fighter when you realize that everyone loves you. It gives you more to fight for, more energy…more focus.
“The support means everything, it’s overwhelming,” he continued. “To think that so many people are sharing their love…It means so much to me that people are behind you and proud of you and supporting you. It’s an incentive to do the right thing and an incentive to keep doing the right thing.”
From there, Harris needed to address the issue head-on, regarding his stepdaughter, how he handled his grief and what brought him back to the sport.
“I went through a dark period, as you could probably imagine,” he openly admitted. “I felt myself slipping in the opposite direction of what I set out to be as a man and a father. I had a talk with my wife one day, and she suggested he start training again.
“I was at a point where I thought that thinking about anything but my daughter was wrong. I could hear her tell me ‘Daddy I want you to go back.’ He also mentioned that she answered his prayers, and that she told him that he “sacrificed so much to be there,” while expressing to him that she would be more upset if he stopped fighting.
To recover and get back on the proverbial horse, Harris worked his way into a plan.
“I put a goal out there for when I wanted to give to give myself some incentive,” Harris explained. “I told the UFC I was ready in April…I’m grateful and ready.”
Harris then championed a new law that he is attempting to get passed called Aniah’s Law, which will prohibit those arrested for violent offenses to get out on bond. Were it not for the pandemic, the legislation would have likely already passed, according to Harris.
“[Aniah’s Law] flew through the judicial system,” he stated affirmatively. “I went to all the meetings, met all the lawmakers and got to see how the process worked. We were very close to getting the bill passed and sent to the [Alabama] Senate, but the pandemic hit. Hopefully we’ll have the law before 2020 is over, and other states will grab it and enact it as well to protect people.
“It’s the first big step to keeping my daughter’s name alive. We’re working on so many different things in her honor, but the bill would be a capstone. We should not be afraid to live freely.”
After the serious topics had been addressed, Harris was able to speak about a fond memory he enjoyed recently when attending an NHL hockey game.
“I’m sick right now,” Harris replied when asked if he missed hockey. “The last hockey game I went to was in [Washington] D.C. I got to meet [Alexander] Ovechkin, it was the highlight of my life. My knees buckled when I walked in…I was talking to Tom…he was showing me the lockers, and [Ovechkin] tapped me on the shoulder with a jersey with my name on it.”
“We chopped it up, talked hockey,” Harris beamed.
Harris is headlining UFC Fight Night 172 on May 16 against Overeem at heavyweight, which will take place at the VyStar Veterans Memorial Arena in Jacksonville, Florida. Serving in the co-main event is a women’s strawweight clash between Claudia Gadelha and Angela Hill.