Valter Walker previously trained with Shara Magomedov under Gor Azizyan at GOR MMA in Moscow.
That’s why the ranked UFC heavyweight was not surprised to see Magomedov pulling the hair of opponent Michel Pereira in their middleweight co-main event last weekend at UFC Baku. “Bullet” received a warning from referee Herb Dean for the recurring infraction, but faced no penalty.
“When I had long hair, every time I trained with Shara, he would pull my hair and knee me in the face while holding onto it,” Walker
told Brazil’s Sexto Round (transcribed by Sherdog.com). “I’d tell Coach Gor and he’d applaud Shara — mostly because Shara is his favorite son. I think that’s really wrong, and it was one of the reasons I shaved my head.”
Magomedov, 32, went on to defeat Pereira by unanimous decision.
“I think everyone has a fetish,” Walker added. “For example, in my case, I have ugly feet, so I end up wanting to break other people’s feet. Shara is missing an eye; I think he sticks his fingers in people’s eyes because he wants to blind them. There’s a psychological reason for it, but I’m not a psychologist, so I couldn’t explain exactly what it is.”
Magomedov (17-1) only gets bookings overseas because he’s blind in one eye and would not be cleared to compete by stateside athletic commissions. As for Walker (15-1), he’s currently in camp for his upcoming fight against Thomas Petersen when the promotion returns to Abu Dhabi on July 25 on “Fight Island.”
After that, it’s time to focus on that foot fetish.
