Ibraheem Yazeed, accused in the kidnapping and murder of former UFC heavyweight Walt Harris’s 19 year-old stepdaughter Aniah Blanchard, is set for trial.
Despite the tragedy having taken place back in 2019, when Harris was still an active fighter with the promotion, multiple delays have dragged the case out.
However, according to Alabama’s WVTM13, a March 2, 2026 trial date has been set for the case. Yazeed is facing the death penalty if convicted.
At the time of Blanchard’s disappearance, Dana White himself offered a reward for information leading to her return, as did the governor of Alabama. Blanchard, however, was already dead, after being abducted by a man, allegedly Yazeed, who was on bail in an unrelated case involving extreme violence.
As it pertains to Aniah Blanchard, Ibraheem Yazeed is facing charges including capital murder during a kidnapping, capital murder during a robbery and capital murder involving a victim in a vehicle, all of which carry the death penalty.
Harris and his wife, in the wake of Blanchard’s death, campaigned tirelessly to see Aniah’s Law passed by voters in Alabama. Now in effect in the state, in further restricts bail for those accused of kidnapping, rape, sodomy, domestic violence, human trafficking, burglary, arson, and robbery where charges are in the first degree, as well as aggravated child abuse, sexual torture, terrorism, and non-capital murder.
Harris was reportedly removed from the UFC roster earlier this year, after being hit with a multi-year suspension for banned substances by CSAD (Combat Sports Anti-Doping) in 2024. Backdated to the date of his positive test, he was handed down a 48-month suspension, making him ineligible to compete until 2027.
“The Big Ticket” lost all three of his UFC fights following Blanchard’s death.
