Walker Forced From Sophomore MMA Bout

Former football great Herschel Walker has been forced out of his Dec. 4 bout against Scott Carson on the undercard of Strikeforce’s “Henderson vs. Babalu II” event.

The promotion announced Wednesday that Walker had “sustained a deep cut under his left eye” while training for the match at American Kickboxing Academy in San Jose, Calif., on Monday. Ironically, the source of the cut was a knee strike from another Strikeforce heavyweight, unbeaten Olympic wrestling convert Daniel Cormier, who trains with Walker at AKA.

“I feel terrible about this,” Walker said in a press release. “I know things like this happen in all sports, but I had trained very hard and was excited to be returning to the cage again. I hope to fight again as soon as the cut heals.”

Sherdog.com has confirmed with Strikeforce officials that Walker will not be replaced, and that Carson has also been scratched from the card. An announcement is expected to be made in the coming days regarding a replacement for the bout on the Showtime broadcast.

A two-time NFL Pro Bowl selection and winner of the 1982 Heisman Trophy, Walker, 48, made his mixed martial arts debut in January at Strikeforce “Miami.” There, the former Georgia Bulldog dominated the little-known Greg Nagy en route to a third-round technical knockout.