5 Things You Might Not Know about Walt Harris

Walt Harris has thus far managed to keep his head above water in the Ultimate Fighting Championship’s heavyweight division—no small feat for a man who was once released by the organization.

“The Big Ticket” finds himself at something of a crossroads as he sets his sights on former M-1 Global champion Marcin Tybura in the UFC Fight Night 189 co-main event on Saturday at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas. There, Harris will attempt to rebound from back-to-back losses to Alistair Overeem and Alexander Volkov. He enters the cage with a 6-8 record inside the Octagon, struggling to maintain his place as a Top 10 heavyweight.

As Harris moves toward his three-round battle with Tybura, here are five things you might not know about him:

1. He did not take a traditional route to MMA.

Harris spent one season as a reserve forward for the Jacksonville State University men’s basketball team. During the 2003-04 campaign, the 6-foot-5 Birmingham, Alabama, native averaged 2.3 points and 1.5 rebounds per game for the Gamecocks, shooting 50% from the field and 60% from the free throw line.

2. His hands are lethal weapons.

It should come as little surprise that all 13 of Harris’ victories as a professional mixed martial artist have resulted in knockouts. “The Big Ticket” won Golden Gloves boxing championships in two different states—Alabama and Georgia—in 2009 and 2010.

3. He has political aspirations.

Harris ran for the District 3 seat on the City Council in Homewood, Alabama, in 2020. Running as a Democrat in the Aug. 25 general election, he garnered 24.3% of the vote and finished third. Harris received 304 of the 1,251 votes that were cast.

4. Quick-strike violence has been a calling card.

Nearly one-third (four) of the 13 wins on the Harris resume have come in the form of sub-minute finishes. Harris cut down Justin Thornton with punches 16 seconds into their Hess Extreme Fighting clash on March 15, 2011, wiped out Cedric James with punches 22 seconds into their Fight Time 7 affair on Oct. 7, 2011, took care of Sergey Spivak with punches 50 seconds into their UFC Fight Night 151 confrontation on May 4, 2019 and dispatched Alexey Oleynik with a knee strike and follow-up punches 12 seconds into their UFC on ESPN 4 co-main event on July 20, 2019. Harris also has 66- and 75-second stoppages to his credit.

5. Statistics support his Top 10 status.

Harris ranks second among active UFC heavyweights in knockdowns (nine), second in knockdown average per 15 minutes (1.35), third in shortest average fight time (6:39), sixth in appearances (15) and eighth in finishes (six).