5 Defining Moments: Walt Harris

Room for error has all but disappeared for Walt Harris in the Ultimate Fighting Championship heavyweight division.

Out of commission for more than two years, in the throes of a career-worst three-fight losing streak and now faced with the possibility of a United State Anti-Doping Agency suspension, “The Big Ticket” will likely be in desperation mode whenever he returns to the Octagon. Harris, 40, was scheduled to step back into the spotlight at UFC on ESPN 49 before his run-in with USADA nixed those plans. He last appeared at UFC Fight Night 189, where he bowed to punches from former M-1 Global champion Marcin Tybura in the first round of their June 5, 2021 confrontation.

As Harris awaits word on his next move, a look at five of the many moments that have come to define him:

1. Slow Start

Three-time NCAA All-American Jared Rosholt laid claim to a unanimous decision over Harris and spoiled the promotional newcomer’s Octagon debut as part of “The Ultimate Fighter 18” Finale undercard on Nov. 30, 2013 at the Mandalay Bay Events Center in Las Vegas. All three judges arrived at the same verdict: 29-28 for Rosholt. Harris made him earn it. The Birmingham, Alabama, native had Rosholt on his heels in the first round, where he floored him with a clubbing left and followed it with a ringing right hook. Though badly hurt, Rosholt survived, extended the match and let his grit and conditioning do the rest. He did his best work in Round 3, as he struck for a takedown and assaulted Harris with ground-and-pound for the better part of four minutes.

2. A Reason to Believe

Harris disposed of former Legacy Fighting Championship and King of the Cage titleholder Cody East with punches in the first round of their UFC 197 heavyweight prelim on April 23, 2016 at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas. A dazed and battered East succumbed to blows 4:18 into Round 1, his nine-fight winning streak at an end. Harris walked through substantial fire to secure his first victory in four starts inside the Octagon. He absorbed kicks to the legs and body before taking part in a wild punching exchange along the fence. Once the two heavyweights reset, Harris clipped the Jackson-Wink MMA standout with a straight left that sent him crashing to the canvas. East found no refuge on the mat, where he was met with thudding lefts and rights, hammerfists and elbows. By the time referee Mark Smith decided to rescue him, he was a bloody mess.

3. Out on a Limb

Two-time Abu Dhabi Combat Club Submission Wrestling World Championships gold medalist Fabricio Werdum submitted Harris with an armbar in the first round of their UFC 216 heavyweight showcase on Oct. 7, 2017 at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas. Originally booked to face Mark Godbeer on the undercard, “The Big Ticket” filled in for the injured Derrick Lewis on a few hours’ notice and bowed out 65 seconds into Round 1. Werdum executed a single-leg takedown inside the first 40 seconds, quickly climbed to mount and then scrambled to the back. Harris defended against the rear-naked choke but left his arm exposed and became an unwitting victim to the former UFC heavyweight champion.

4. No Refuge

Harris cut down Sergey Spivak with knee strikes and punches less than a minute into the first round of their UFC Fight Night 151 heavyweight feature on May 4, 2019 at the Canadian Tire Centre in Ottawa, Ontario. A short-notice substitution for Alexey Oleynik, Spivak packed his bags 50 seconds into Round 1. Harris gave the Moldovan newcomer no room to breathe, much less operate. He backed Spivak to the fence with heavy punches, brought a volley of knees into the equation and bullied his shellshocked adversary to the canvas, where he could only cover up in the fetal position. More punches and hammerfists followed, necessitating the stoppage. It remains one of four sub-minute finishes on the Harris resume.

5. A Mountain Too High

Former Dream, Strikeforce and K-1 World Grand Prix champion Alistair Overeem on May 16, 2020 put away Harris with sustained ground-and-pound in the second round of their UFC on ESPN 8 main event at the VyStar Veterans Memorial Arena in Jacksonville, Florida. Referee Dan Miragliotta gave “The Big Ticket” every opportunity to recover before calling for the stoppage 3:00 into Round 2. Harris had his counterpart reeling inside the first five minutes, as a multi-punch volley to the face sat down Overeem at the base of the cage and forced him to duck for cover. By the time the Elevation Fight Team representative returned to an upright position, blood was flowing out of his nose and from a cut near his eye. The resourceful and experienced Overeem managed to extend the fight into a second round, where he leveled the Alabama native with a head kick-left hook combination, pursued him to the canvas and advanced to his back, at which point he flattened out Harris and cut loose with punches until Miragliotta had seen enough.