There seems to be a changing of the guard taking place in the Oregon mixed martial arts scene. Long since retired are the Couture’s and Lindland’s of the world. Even the second generation of breakout stars like Chris Leben and Nate Quarry find themselves removed from the cage. Today there are new stars on the rise; fighters who are willing to take on all comers if it means a shot at breaking through to the next level. One such fighter is Ryan Walker. This Saturday at the Chinook Winds Casino Resort in Lincoln City, he will look to add another win to his record at King of the Cage: Wipeout.
Ryan Walker is not the type of person who will let opportunities pass him by. If there is a fighter who is in need of an opponent, Walker will be first in line to solve that problem. You have a champion who isn’t defending? He will call them out. A relentlessly determined person who loves to please the crowd, Walker can be a true showman. At the same time, he is one of the most polite, articulate, and measured fighters I have ever had the pleasure of speaking to. I’d say he’s equal parts Hulk Hogan and UFC Star Rory MacDonald (minus that creepy serial killer vibe). He is out to prove to the world that he has what it takes to reach the next level of the sport. Riding a six-fight winning streak into this weekend, Walker is clear about what he plans on doing after this fight to hopefully make that transition happen quicker.
“The way the sport is going right now you are sort of forced to get as many fights as you can before you are recognized by a larger promotion like the UFC. [With that in mind] I’d like to get in two more fights this year after this one,” Walker told me. “I’ve never been able to be as active as I want and now that I have the chance I would like to fight four times a year for the remainder of my career. However, I have to be realistic. I will be 27 in July and there are probably about five more years that I will be at my prime, athletically. I want to fight as much as I can but I don’t want to be fighting for peanuts.”
With a clear plan in place, the welterweight standout is ready to push forward and bring that goal to fruition. Walker pointed out to me that he believes the way things are going today in MMA, it’s more about quantity of wins than it is quality of opponent when it comes to your record. While he wishes this wasn’t the case, it sort of comes in handy for a fighter like Walker. People aren’t exactly lining up to fight a 6-1 pro that trains with the best fighters in the state of Oregon. As part of the Gracie Barra Fight Team, he has the advantage of training with UFC and Bellator standouts on a regular basis, as well as training his jiu jitsu with one of the best in the world, Fabiano Scherner. Because of this, fighters with less experience look at Walker as an opportunity while he looks at them as notches on his belt. That is not to say he wants easy fights; he just understands that he has to take what he is given until he forces people to take notice.
As Saturday approaches, Walker and his coach, Fabiano Scherner, are preparing to fight on the same card for the first time since he joined the Gracie Barra team. In fact, the two are fighting in the co-main and main event respectively. This is something that Walker takes pride in.
“It’s an honor to be fighting on that card with him…He’s done so much in the sport, fought in the UFC, and is so well respected in the jiu jitsu community. It’s cool being on the card with him as well as Chris Folsom. That’s a few of us representing the gym.”
He is well on his way to breaking through to that elusive next level. He and many of his teammates are leading the charge for this new generation of fighter coming out of Oregon. The road ahead will certainly be full of challenges for many of these fighters, Walker included. But as long as that road has four fights a year for Walker, I don’t think he will mind.
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