UFC’s Valter Walker has a message for the UFC heavyweight division: the foot hunter is retired.
In a recent interview ahead of his UFC Abu Dhabi bout against Thomas Peterson on July 25th, Walker made it clear that his leglock days are behind him. He says that he is done with submissions and wants to stand in the middle of the cage and trade.
“I am tired about this,” Walker said. “People call me like the foot hunter. My wife put everywhere foot. She buy me this. She put foot 24 hours, bro. She say, ‘Oh no, you are a foot hunter.’ Bro, I am tired from that. I want to punch somebody. I want to punch him on the face.”
Walker backed up the declaration by revealing a full training overhaul. He said he has dropped jiu-jitsu and wrestling entirely from his preparation, shifting exclusively to Muay Thai.
“If you look my Instagram right now, I am not training anymore jiu-jitsu. I don’t train anymore this wrestling. I am training Muay Thai, bro. Muay Thai style of pad work, block, block, punch. That’s it.”
He also had a direct message for Peterson, urging him to meet him standing rather than looking for a takedown.
“I don’t want to take your leg. Let’s just in the middle of the cage, put our chin down, and make a war. And after we take our money and go home.”
Still, Walker acknowledged one caveat. If Peterson takes him to the ground, all bets are off.
“If he take down me, I’m going to choke his foot. And I don’t want to do that. I swear for you, I don’t want to do that. I want strike.”
The frustration with his “foot hunter” identity runs deep. Walker said he is tired of being defined by leglocks when he is a heavyweight who should be finishing fights on the feet.
“I walk in the street, people call me foot hunter. The guy who can turn legs. Bro, what the I’m a heavyweight. I supposed turn people off.”
The one exception Walker carved out was for Josh Barnett, who has spoken about Walker publicly. Walker said if they ever meet in the octagon, he would revert to his old ways without hesitation.
“This guy, Josh Barnett, I can break his leg. When he tap, I don’t going to let him go. I’m going to send him to the surgery, brother.”
For everyone else, though, Walker insists those days are over. The new version showing up in Abu Dhabi throws hands.
