Walt Harris News

Natasha Hooper - November 26, 2019

A third suspect has been arrested and charged in connection with the disappearance of Aniah Blanchard, the 19-year old stepdaughter of UFC heavyweight fighter, Walt Harris. On Monday, authorities in Alabama found human remains on a country road. They are believed to belong to the missing Aniah Blanchard.

Tom Taylor - November 25, 2019

The search for missing 19-year-old Aniah Blanchard, the daughter of UFC heavyweight contender Walt Harris, has taken the tragic turn we all hoped it wouldn’t. According to a report from WRBL News 3, human remains believed to be Blanchard’s have been discovered in Macon County, Alabama.

Harry Kettle - November 15, 2019

UFC heavyweight Walt Harris recently appeared on the Dr. Phil show alongside his wife to discuss the ongoing investigation into the disappearance of his stepdaughter. Aniah Blanchard was last seen on October 23, and after a week of no progress being made in the case, a breakthrough came with the arrest of Ibraheem Yazeed who has been charged with kidnapping. A DNA test from blood found in the car of Blanchard matches her, although she has yet to be found.

Tom Taylor - November 8, 2019

A suspect has been arrested in connection to the disappearance of Aniah Blanchard, the daughter of UFC heavyweight contender Walt Harris. According to WSFA, police in Florida arrested suspect Ibraheem Yazeed on Thursday night. Yazeed, a 30-year-old resident of Auburn, Alabama, is now being detained without bond in Florida on behalf of the Auburn Police Division.

Tom Taylor - November 1, 2019

Walt Harris has withdrawn from his planned showdown with Alistair Overeem, which was expected to headline the UFC’s return to Washington DC on December 7, amid the tragedy of his daughter Aniah Blanchard’s disappearance. News of Harris’ withdrawal from the card was first reported by MMA Junkie.

Adam Martin - October 31, 2019

UFC light heavyweight champion Jon Jones and MMA agent Ali Abdelaziz have donated a $25,000 reward each to find the missing daughter of Walt Harris. 19-year-old Aniah Blanchard is the daughter of Harris and she disappeared last week in Auburn, Alabama. Auburn and Montgomery police have been searching diligently to find her, but she has not been found. On Thursday, Auburn police revealed they found evidence in Blanchard’s vehicle that indicates she was potentially harmed.

Harry Kettle - October 31, 2019

UFC president Dana White has put forward an extra $25,000 that will be added to the original $5,000 reward fee in the search for Walt Harris’ daughter. Aniah Blanchard, 19, has been missing since October 23 with Harris putting out a series of pleas on social media ever since then. The issue has drawn the attention of the entire mixed martial arts community as fans and fighters alike do everything they can in order to help find Blanchard.

Adam Martin - October 25, 2019

Aniah Blanchard, the daughter of UFC heavyweight contender Walt Harris is missing, and “The Big Ticket” is asking the public for help finding her. On Friday, Walt Harris posted a message on his social media channels pleading with the public for help finding his missing 19-year-old daughter Aniah, who is missing in Auburn, Alabama.

Mike Pendleton - August 13, 2019

When the UFC heads to the Nation’s capital of Washington D.C. in December, two heavyweights will reportedly clash in the main event. According to Brett Okamoto of ESPN, former heavyweight title challenger Alistair Overeem will face Walt Harris in the main event of UFC Washington D.C. Breaking: A big, heavyweight main event is headed to Washington DC on Dec. 7, per sources. Walt Harris vs. Alistair Overeem verbally agreed. pic.twitter.com/8AJoz59jnU

Adam D Martin - July 21, 2019

Walt Harris is $50,000 richer today after his stunning 12-second knockout win over Aleksei Oleinik in the co-main event of UFC San Antonio. The promotion announced the four bonus winners on social media following the event last night. Harris and Dan Hooker each won $50,000 for Performance of the Night, while Mario Bautista and Jin Soo Son also won $50,000 each for Fight of the Night.

Chris Taylor - July 20, 2019

Tonight’s UFC San Antonio event is co-headlined by a heavyweight bout featuring submission specialist Aleksei Oleinik taking on Walt Harris. ‘The Big Ticket’, Harris (12-7 MMA), will enter tonight’s contest looking to build on the momentum of his first round knockout victory over Sergey Spivak at UFC Ottawa.

Cole Shelton - July 15, 2019

Alexey Oleynik is in for a tough fight. At UFC San Antonio, the Russian is set to take on Walt Harris in the co-main event. The 42-year-old is looking to get back into the win column after losing to Alistair Overeem back in April. Although he lost the fight, Oleynik says he was happy with his performance as he showed off his skills and at one point had his opponent hurt.

Tom Taylor - April 23, 2019

UFC heavyweight Walt Harris has accepted a four-month sanction from the United States Anti-Doping Agency (USADA) after testing positive for the anabolic agent LGD-4033. In addition, Harris’ UFC 232 split decision victory over former UFC heavyweight champion Andrei Arlovski has been overturned to a no-contest. USADA announced this news in a release, explaining that Harris’ violation was the result of his use of a tainted supplement:

Chris Taylor - June 1, 2018

A heavyweight tilt featuring Walt Harris taking on Daniel Spitz took place on tonight’s UFC Fight Night 131 main card from Utica, New York. Daniel Spitz entered the contest with a 6-1 record while his opponent Walt “The Big Ticket” Harris came in at 10-7 overall.

Justin Golightly - November 7, 2017

It wouldn’t be a UFC card in New York without a little bit of controversy. Walt Harris had Mark Godbeer in a bad way, but due to a questionable glancing knee and a follow-up illegal kick, he ended up losing the fight in a rare disqualification. The referee was running and yelling at Harris to stop the action, but Harris followed through with his technique and Godbeer stated he could not continue. After speaking to Dana White at UFC 217, Walt Harris decided he will appeal the official decision. “I spoke with Dana right afterward, and he told me to contest it. He told me to appeal it. He said he felt like, you know, there’s a replay and I had a chance to win if I appealed. And that’s what I’m going to do. I feel like, at worst, it should have been a no-contest. If you remember, Curtis Blaydes and Aleksei Oleinik had the same type of situation, and they gave Curtis the win. I don’t understand how mine just went straight to a disqualification when there was conclusive evidence on the replay that the knee didn’t land low and I was in the heat of the fight. It wasn’t like the ref had put his hands on me, stopped my momentum, and then I took off and went and hit him. I was in the middle of a combination. So, to just go straight to a disqualification is like – I don’t understand it.”

Chris Taylor - November 5, 2017

UFC heavyweight Walt Harris has issued a statement after suffering a DQ loss to Mark Godbeer at last night’s UFC 217 event in New York. Harris hit Godbeer with a head kick late in the round as the referee was attempting to call a timeout due to a groin strike (watch that here).

Tom Taylor - October 8, 2017

Originally, former UFC heavyweight champion Fabricio Werdum was expected to battle brick-fisted heavyweight contender Derrick Lewis on the main card of UFC 216. When Lewis was forced out of the fight at the last minute with a back injury, however, Werdum was paired with “The Big Ticket” Walt Harris, who was transplanted from a UFC 216 undercard bout with Mark Godbeer. Though Harris deserves major props for taking a fight with the one of the world’s best heavyweights on mere hours’ notice, the fight itself was more or less a disaster for him. Moments into the first-round, he was taken down by his decorated foe, and from there, it was just a matter of time. Werdum locked up the armbar, and seconds later, Harris was furiously tapping in pain.

Tom Taylor - January 15, 2017

Right hook + Knee + Straight left = FINISH HIM!!! @TheBigTicket205 w/ a HUGE KO!!! What a start to #UFCPhoenix pic.twitter.com/GtW5RiGw1A — UFC (@ufc) January 16, 2017