UFC heavyweight fighter Walt Harris has issued an emotional statement, following his technical knockout loss at UFC on ESPN 8 this past weekend.
‘The Big Ticket’ returned to the Octagon on Saturday since the death of his stepdaughter, Aniah Blanchard, and locked horns with Alistair Overeem in UFC’s third MMA event in eight days at the VyStar Veterans Memorial Arena in Jacksonville, Florida.
Harris had a strong start and almost finished his opponent in the first round. But Overeem found his groove in the second frame to get the TKO victory on the eve of his 40th birthday.
“I’m sorry I didn’t get the W for you tonight,” Harris said in the post-fight interview inside the octagon.
“You’ve been like my family through everything, and I’m so grateful. … Y’all at home watching, I’m sorry. I’ll be back better, I promise you. You haven’t seen the last of The Big Ticket.”
“I’m going to go home, recover. I’m going to heal emotionally and physically, and I promise you I’ll be better.”
Learning And Growing
‘The Big Ticket’ has also vowed to come back stronger and to ‘keep pushing’ in memory of her stepdaughter, who was killed in Alabama in November 2019.
“First let me thank @alistairovereem for sharing the octagon we me tonight… You’re a class act brother and a legend! Tonight wasn’t my night, but you best believe I will be back better! Thank to everyone for all your love and support can’t say it enough! We learn and grow! Baby girl… daddy loves you and I promise I will keep pushing! #ForeverAniah💙💙💙💙”
The heavyweight pair was originally scheduled to meet last month but the UFC postponed the fight due to the global pandemic. Prior to the TKO loss, Harris was on a two-fight winning streak as he finished Aleksei Oleinik and Sergey Spivak in 2019.
UFC on ESPN 8 full results:
Alistair Overeem def. Walt Harris via 2nd-round TKO (3:00)
Claudia Gadelha def. Angela Hill via split decison (28-29, 29-28 x2)
Dan Ige def. Edson Barboza via split decision (28-29, 29-28 x2)
Krzysztof Jotko def. Eryk Anders via unanimous decision (30-27, 29-28 x2)
Song Yadong def. Marlon Vera via unanimous decision (29-28 x3)
Miguel Baeza def. Matt Brown via second-round KO (R2, 0:18)
Kevin Holland def. Anthony Hernandez via first-roud TKO (0:39)
Giga Chikadze def. Irwin Rivera via unanimous decision (30-26, 30-27, 30-27)
Nate Landwehr def. Darren Elkins via unanimous decision (29-28, 30-27, 30-27)
Cortney Casey def. Mara Romero Borella via submission (armbar) (R1, 3:36)
Rodrigo Nascimento def. Don’tale Mayes via sub (rear-naked choke) (R2, 2:05)
(Featured Image Source: Instagram/ Walt Harris)