Seattle, WA — Julius Walker might have had the most entertaining media day appearance in ages, ahead of his promotional debut at UFC Seattle this weekend.
The just the facts version: Walker is fighting Alonzo Menified in a light heavyweight bout, where the short-notice newcomer will rather expectedly be the underdog.
The fun stuff: Walker covered everything from being a fanboy for many of the fighters sharing the Seattle card, his O.J. Simpson inspired nickname, and being the best basketball player in MMA, to whether or not he’ll have his fighting style announced as “Ninja Sh*t” this weekend (spoiler: he won’t, out of respect for Bruce Buffer).
Not a bad introduction for the undefeated, 6-0 fighter originally from Connecticut.
“I’m definitely not too proud to admit the fact that I’m seeing a lot of these guys, and I’m almost fanboying out a little bit. I’m seeing some of these names that I’ve been watching since I was in high school,” Walker said on Wednesday, with media outlets including Cageside Press on hand. “And it’s definitely a really cool experience, but at the end of the day, if I don’t get the victory here then— that’s the big goal here. I need to get this started off on the right foot.”
Walker admitted that after going on a run on Tuesday night, he came across Henry Cejudo in the hotel gym, getting a little wrestling work in. “I was like ‘oh man.’ He was wrestling a little bit, to see an Olympic gold medalist wrestling is worth the price of admission.”
The UFC newcomer didn’t want to bother Cejudo during a training session, but just as he’s not too proud to admit to a bit of fanboying, he’s likewise not too proud to ask some of UFC Seattle’s stars for photos. “I plan on asking some of these guys for pictures and autographs, because maybe the shoe will be on the other foot one day.”
Walker is, as noted, the underdog heading into his fight with Alonzo Menifield, who remains ranked in the division’s top 15 despite some recent struggles. Yet it’s not as bad Walker originally expected.
“Honestly to be completely real with you, the fact that I’ve been a pro for less than two years, and I’ve got six fights and I’m fighting the number 15-ranked guy in the world, and I think I’m like +170 or something… I thought they were going to have me at +300 or 400, something wide like that. But I guess in the light heavyweight division, it’s probably pretty tough to put anybody any more than like, -200.”
After playing basketball in university, Walker picked up the name Juice from his coach, which wound up being Juice Box. “It’s because he said I looked like a young O.J. [Simpson]. Back then, I couldn’t grow no facial hair, I was 18 years old, baby face, and I had a little baby fro. He said ‘man you look like a young O.J.’ So he started calling me juice.”
“My teammates added on juice box, juice barrel, juice bucket, juice gallon. I picked Juice Box when I went into the fighting world because it’s pretty brandable,” continued Walker, saying he envisioned it on everything from lunch pails to t-shirts— and yes, he has shirts available.
So is it safe to say Walker is going to be a killer like O.J. (hat tip to MMA Mania’s Alex Behunin for asking that question)? “You know, I would like to say figuratively yes, literally no. For my wife watching at home, you should be good, I don’t plan on doing none of that crazy stuff. The glove won’t fit,” he replied with a laugh.
As a former basketballer, Julius Walker also gave his UFC starting five for a fantasy basketball team. The names include himself, all-around athlete Ciryl Gane, Don’Tale Mayes, who also played college hoops, the towering Tallison Teixeira, and perhaps surprisingly, Islam Makhachev, who will be on rebound duty. “If he gets a rebound, he’s under strict instruction to pass it immediately, because I’ve seen Dagestani basketball, we can’t have none of that,” Walker finished.
Watch the full UFC Seattle media day appearance by Julius Walker above.
