Herschel Walker (1-0), the 1982 Heisman Trophy winner, tae kwon do black belt and 1992 Olympian, has secured an opponent for his second professional mixed martial arts fight.
Walker will face off with one-time WEC veteran Scott Carson (4-1) as part of the Showtime-televised main card for “Strikeforce: Henderson vs. Babalu” which will take place Saturday, Dec. 4, at the Scottrade Center in St. Louis, Mo.
The two will fight at heavyweight, although, Carson tells ESPN.com he believes his contract states he is not to exceed 220 lbs.
Walker, who has made his MMA home at American Kickboxing Academy in San Jose, Calif., made his pro debut in January of this year with a third round TKO victory over Greg Nagy (1-3) at “Strikeforce: Miami.”
At least with Carson, Walker will be facing an opponent with a winning record this time. However, Carson has had only one fight in the last nine years, a first round knockout loss to Lorenz Larkin (5-0) back in June.
Carson, a former training partner of Chuck Liddell, began his pro MMA career in 1999 and won his first four fights. He competed in the very first WEC event in 2001, scoring a first round submission win over Bryson Haubrick (0-3). That was his final bout before his nine-year hiatus.
If he were able to score a victory over Walker, it would be a good high-profile win for Carson, now 40-years-old, to get back on track where he left off nearly a decade ago. And for Walker, who is fast approaching 50, but looks about 30, as long as he keeps winning and looking half-way decent doing it, it is possible we could see him on televised Strikeforce cards for years to come.