Walker hints at return to NFL
Many in the sports world were stunned last year when former NFL star and Heisman Trophy winner Herschel Walker announced he would make his professional mixed martial arts debut at age 47.
What he hinted at Monday might be even more shocking.
Walker, a former running back who last played in the NFL in 1997, said he would entertain the possibility of returning to the league after he turns 50 in 2012.
“I tell people I may even try out for football again and show people I can do that. I’d be the George Foreman of football and come back and do that one more time,” he said on a conference call. “There is a 100 percent guarantee that today I could help a football team out.”
While the declaration has to be taken with a healthy dose of cynicism — Walker is promoting his second pro fight Saturday against Scott Carson on a Strikeforce card on Showtime — he insists he is still more than capable of competing on the gridiron.
Walker said he was clocked at a mind-boggling 4.38 in the 40-yard dash after his MMA debut last year and that his time right now would certainly be sub-4.5.
Walker, who won his debut bout over Greg Nagy, even has a couple of teams in mind for his comeback. He said he would like to play for either Minnesota or Atlanta but favors his hometown Falcons.
As for his MMA career, Walker is making no plans beyond Saturday’s bout. He is satisfied to continue training hard and learning the sport.
The card, which airs tape delayed at 10 p.m., features two title bouts. Nick Diaz will defend the lightweight belt against Evangelista Santos, and middleweight champion Ronaldo Souza faces Robbie Lawler.
■ ZUFFA LAWSUIT — Zuffa, LLC, the parent company of the Ultimate Fighting Championship, has filed another lawsuit in its ongoing battle against piracy.
This time, the website Justin.tv is the target of legal action filed last week in U.S. District Court in Las Vegas.
The suit alleges the website has failed to “meaningfully address the rampant and illegal uploading of video of live pay-per-view events by members and users of the website.”
Justin.tv is a YouTube-type site where a community of users upload and share content with fellow users.
The suit specifically claims UFC 121 on Oct. 23 was viewed by more than 50,000 people on the site.
The Digital Millennium Copyright Act’s safe harbor provision typically protects sites with user-generated content like Justin.tv, but the provision is null and void if the service provider “has actual knowledge that the material or an activity using the material on the system or network is infringing” on copyright law or the site doesn’t “expeditiously remove or disable access to” content that is reported as in violation of copyright law.
“Zuffa has attempted to work on numerous occasions with Justin.tv over nearly a two-year period to encourage it to prevent or limit its infringing activities,” Zuffa’s Las Vegas attorney, Donald J. Campbell, said. “Regrettably, Justin.tv has not only turned a blind eye to the massive online piracy occurring on its website, we believe it has actually induced its users to commit copyright infringement thus leaving Zuffa no alternative but to take this fight to the courts.”
■ MMA XPLOSION RETURNS — MMA Xplosion will host another pro card at the Hard Rock Hotel on Saturday night.
The event will feature four international “teams” of fighters. Six U.S. fighters will be matched against six fighters representing Brazil, and Team Mexico will take on Team Kazakhstan.
The main event pits Damien Knight against former “The Ultimate Fighter” cast member Vinny Magalhaes.
The card also includes Las Vegan Chidi Njokuani, the younger brother of UFC fighter Anthony Njokuani.
The first bout is at 7 p.m. Tickets start at $30.
Contact reporter Adam Hill at ahill@reviewjournal.com or 702-224-5509.
