MMATorch Reintroduction

By Brad Walker MMATorch Columnist

Ladies and gentlemen boys and girls children of all indiscriminate natures, my name is Brad Walker and I am the new (but also old) name you’ll be seeing around these hallowed halls of combat sports more in the future. Let me tell you more about myself before I jump head first into the greatness that is the current products we have to immerse ourselves in. 

I was an MMATorch columnist previously during the era when the wonderful Jamie Penick was the senior editor alongside the currently bad ass Frank Hyden, and former writers like Rich Hansen and Daniel Moore. You remember back when no one could lay a finger on Anderson Silva and TRTor Belfort was head kicking people into blindness? When McGregor was still believed to have hit his glass ceiling prior to fighting Chad Mendes? When people were still calling marijuana a PED because the Diaz brothers just don’t care? Yeah back then. I was fortunate enough to interview many of my favorite fighters and create a bond with many as well. The ever controversial Fallon Fox also became a bear and dear friend of mine for many years. It was one of the most fun times in my life in this wonderful world of combat.

I would move on to managing local fighters professional and amateur along side my ex brother in law Manuel Garcia before making some life changes and stepping away from the MMA world for a while. Nowadays I own and operate a professional wrestling company called All Heel Wrestling out of Chicago, and that has brought me closer to MMA once again, so naturally why would I not be here writing entertaining and intriguing perhaps at times absurd columns for the great readers of MMATorch? 

Looking across the MMA landscape these days so much has changed since the “everyone has hypogonadism” era pre USADA and UFC ratcheting up their drug testing, but somehow SOMEHOW Bellator is still operational, I mean who woulda thought? Right? Long gone are Elite XC, Strikeforce, Affliction (lol!), and the short lived WSOF which is now PFL and holy crap would you get a freakin load of BKFC? I know people used to think UFC was a blood sport (it’s not) but good lordy and Roseanne Barr BKFC is fabulously violent and actually puts a very violent and entertaining twist on boxing. Not unlike Jon Jones toe at the end of his bout with Chael Sonnen. (Yes I’m that old) 

We are living in an era where combat sports are expanding and becoming more specialized in so many ways. If you had asked me 5 years ago if we’d ever see bare knuckle boxing legalized I would’ve laughed at you harder than I did at Will Smith’s sad attempt at a Stockton Slap. If you had told me WWE would have a viable competitor in the wrestling and sports entertainment market I would’ve asked you to quietly sign an NDA and never speak of it again. (Oof, am I right?) My point is the time we are living in is the greatest time for combat sports, we get to watch Anderson freaking Silva throw hands with a YouTube gazillionaire in a sanctioned boxing match. THIS IS PHENOMENAL! 

I’ll be the resident over opinionated clown for the future and your author to love to hate and often agree with! Combat sports is my passion, they are my life and they are my favorite thing to write and talk about. You can find me on Twitter at @MMATorchBrad or my wrestling account @AHWrestling

It’s good to be back. Let’s do this!