Vegan Fighters

10 Vegan Fighters That Break Your Stereotypes

In Boxing by ShahanLeave a Comment

People often assume that being began takes something out of you. I’ve heard many of my friends tell me “you don’t look like a vegan” because for the most part, they expect to vegans to be skinny and lack muscle. This would be the equivalent of me saying every fit meat eater doesn’t look like a meat eater, because most traditional dieters, are out of shape, to say the least.

Veganism is poked fun at at times; and vegans are typically mocked. The stereotypes against vegans are bad and you don't realize it until you take the plunge yourself.

Sure, meat has energy and protein, but it's not the only source to fuel your strength, or protein.

If you really believe that meat-eating is the only thing that makes you strong, or manly, or tough, then check out these 10 plant based warriors and find out why you've got it all wrong.

Nick Diaz Vegan Fighter

Nick Diaz (26 W-10 L-0 D, 1 NC)

A high-volume volume punching machine, MMA fighter Nick Diaz is a proud vegan and probably one of the biggest names in the sport who took on the diet.

A legendary fighter in his own right, Nick Diaz participated in some of the most exciting fights in the sport, the man is anything but dull, whether inside or outside of the octagon.

As most MMA aficionados would agree, there's no major Nick Diaz fight without a degree of controversy, a layer of insults, and a ton of trash talk that throw his opponents of their game.

Born and raised in the mean streets of Stockton, California, Nick Diaz knows how to make a war out of a fight; and he definitely knows how to bring a spark that can excite the crowd.

Not surprisingly, Diaz is one of the few guys with a solid cult following among the older die-hard MMA fans. The man can get anyone bloodied in seconds, period. And he's a vegan of all things.

In his prime, the vegan Nick Diaz can make a mincemeat out of his opponents(the puns). All thanks to his ultra-aggressive, high-octane level of fighting style that never fails to gain the respect of the fans and the haters.

As a fighter, Nick Diaz's fighting career started in 2001 when he joined the IFC Warriors Challenge. He made an impressive debut in his first fight by stopping Mike Wick via submission. And then in his second fight, he captured the IFC welterweight belt by defeating Chris Lytle.

Not bad for a vegan.

Diaz would later contend for some other major titles, although he lost in most of his title fights, he successfully claimed the Strikeforce welterweight belt by defeating a tough opponent in Marius Žaromskis.

As he waded deeper into the sport and rose through the ranks, Nick Diaz fought in several major MMA fights and tournaments under different promotional banners. These include the UFC, Strikeforce, Shooto, EliteXC, IFC, DREAM, PRIDE, and WEC.

Through the years, Diaz also fought some of the best in his generation, engaging in exciting cage wars against the likes of Robbie Lawler, Anderson Silva, B.J. Penn, Georges St-Pierre, Carlos Condit, Paul Daley, Scott Smith, Frank Shamrock, Evangelista Santos, Takanori Gomi, Marius Zaromskis, Diego Sanchez, and K.J. Noons. My personal favorite was his fight against Robbie Lawler.

nate diaz vegan

Nate Diaz (19-11-0)

MMA star Nate Diaz is the younger brother of Nick Diaz, a fellow vegan and his biggest influence in taking the "no-meat" diet since they were teens.

Nate Diaz is most recently known for beating Conor ‘The Notorious’ McGregor at UFC 196 in 2016, the brash, trash-talking multi-titlist UFC poster-boy who rose to superstardom by virtue of his high energy style, punching prowess, and personality.

Diaz was actually a late replacement as McGregor's original opponent, UFC Lightweight Champion Rafael dos Anjos, backed out due to a foot injury. So, coming into the fight, McGregor was the heavy favorite; and UFC’s most marketed fighter.

With barely two weeks left heading to the fight, the build-up came with plenty of references to food, eating, salads, and meat. And more of it was coming from the McGregor's camp in an attempt to mock Nate Diaz's vegan diet and get into his head. The Irish fighter even compared himself to a lion and Diaz to a gazelle about to be eaten alive inside the cage.

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But it was Diaz who turned out to be the real animal in the cage.

In front of 15,000 fans, he submitted McGregor with a rear naked choke in the second round, after rocking him with a left hand. Diaz did not only strip the Irish fighter of his aura of invincibility, but he also gifted himself a quick access to the sport's stratosphere amongst the newer MMA fans.

Personally, I don't think diet has anything to do with your fight ability, Diaz's triumph was still heavily celebrated by many vegans online, with the internet being filled with plenty of "I told you so" remarks.

Even Diaz and his brother Nick can't help but say their piece, saying that the victory settled the discussion on whether a vegan can actually win optimally inside the octagon.

In an interview with UFC host Megan Olivi, Diaz shared that when he's preparing for a fight, he's always in an all-raw vegan diet to shed weight and be in fighting shape.

Nate said that it was his brother Nick that influenced him to become a vegan. He recalled that when he was 16 or 17 years old and while competing in martial arts competitions, there were a lot of times when he stopped eating meat.

As a young fighter back then, his motivation was simple: because it works. After he witnessed how it was helping his brother Nick, he thought it would be good for him to cut down on meat too.

Diaz's MMA career started in 2004 at the World Extreme Cagefighting (WEC). He fought for the lightweight championship but lost to the formidable opponent and title-holder Hermes Franca. He later joined the UFC, and aside from McGregor, he fought some of the best competitors in the sport, including Benson Henderson and Rafael dos Anjos.

Diaz faced McGregor again for a rematch in 2016 but lost via a majority decision. Despite this, his first victory over McGregor already made him a legitimate UFC star, a fitting highlight to a career journey that saw him start from the rough neighborhood of Stockton to the glitzy world of stardom.

After a long hiatus, Nate Diaz is slated to fight again in UFC 230 against Dustin Poirier. The fight is booked on November 3 this year. Sadly, some troubles seemed to be brewing and fight fans are keeping their fingers crossed that it would actually happen.

jakes shields vegan fighter

Jake Shields (32-10-1, 1 NC)

An explosive former UFC phenom and title contender, 39-year-old American Jake Shields is a tough submission grappler who is probably best known for blazing through a 15-fight unbeaten streak until his loss to legendary UFC welterweight champion Georges St-Pierre. The event was held in front of a record crowd of 55,000 fans at UFC 129 in Toronto back in 2011.

A known vegetarian for most of his life, Jake Shields is also a long-time supporter of animal rights group PETA (People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals). In one of the interviews with the group, Shields explained his diet, saying that one can still get protein without eating meat.

In a Bleacher Report interview, Shields elaborated that he simply doesn't like eating animals and being a vegetarian just became his way of life.

A native of  Mountain Ranch, California, Shields is one of the most committed vegans. He trained under the famed Cesar Gracie Fight Team and is known for having a strong wrestling and Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu backgrounds. Using a hybrid of both styles throughout his fighting career, he later proclaimed himself to be the progenitor of what he calls American Jiu-Jitsu.

Shields has always been one of UFC's solid, top-ranked fighters for years. Although he has never won a UFC belt, his career that now spans nearly two decades saw him winning titles in almost all of the major MMA promotional organizations. These include Shooto,  Rumble on the Rock, Strikeforce, and EliteXC.

As an MMA fighter, Shields holds some notable wins over some of the biggest names in the sport, including Dan Henderson, Yushin Okami, Robbie Lawler, Paul Daley, Tyron Woodley, Demian Maia, and Carlos Condit. That’s a hell of a resume.

In 2014, Shields was released by the UFC after losing a fight against Hector Lombard, which was actually his first defeat in almost three years. He would later take his act to the World Series of Fighting (now called Professional Fighters League or PFL), an MMA promotional outfit run by kickboxing legend Ray Sefo.

Sean O Malley Vegan

Sean "Sugar" O'Malley (10-0-0)

A 23-year old American MMA fighter, Sean "Sugar" O'Malley is a top bantamweight prospect who remains undefeated in his first 10 fights under the UFC banner.

O'Malley was a long-time vegan, although he recently claimed he stopped the diet.

Prior to becoming an MMA fighter, O'Malley was a trained boxer and kickboxer. He later entered the octagon fight game and trained in the LAB, a popular Arizona-based mixed martial arts center under famed trainer and Jiu-Jitsu expert John Crouch.

A Montana-native, O'Malley turned pro in 2015 and turned heads with his knockout win against David Nuzzo in a fight promoted by the Legacy Fighting Alliance. The scintillating performance earned him a spot in Dana White's Tuesday Night Contender Series where he impressed the UFC boss with a stunning first-round knockout victory against Alfred Khashakyan.

As expected, O'Malley was eventually signed by the UFC and made his fight debut in 2017 with a unanimous decision victory over Terrion Ware. He followed this up with a streak of impressive victories, some of which delivered via knockouts.

If he keeps winning, O'Malley is touted to join the rank of the current crop of promising fighters in the sport.

mike rashid vegan boxing

Mike Rashid (1-0, 1 KO)

Aside from being a die-hard vegan, American Mike Rashid is many things. He is a bodybuilder, boxer, fitness guru, businessman, actor, and author.

If some still need convincing that veganism makes one skinny and weak, then they ought to see Mike Rashid.

Sporting a super-shredded and stellar physique, Rashid is a quintessential image of a man who takes fitness and strength seriously; and you can bet that he takes it to the next level, too.

Rashid was a two-time Golden Gloves champ and who started boxing at the young age of 12. In his late 20s, he pursued his interest on power-building and later became a WBFF pro power bodybuilder.

Rashid said he finally ditched meat and started taking the vegan diet in 2017. Besides the fact that it never gave him pleasure to eat animals, Rashid shared that he just came to a point where eating meat was not helping him anymore. He realized that becoming a vegan is what's best for his health. In one interview he said the inflammation in his body started disappearing and made his workouts less painful on his joints.

Currently, Rashid enjoys a successful fitness instruction career. He runs a gym, a supplement, and clothing line. He also dabbles in acting and writing e-books.

Just recently, Rashid turned pro in boxing and made a smashing debut by knocking out Darious Taylor in just less than a minute. He is back in the ring in November.

This guys is living his best life and making the most of his potential.

tim bradley vegan fighter

Timothy "Desert Storm" Bradley (33-2-1)

Nicknamed "Desert Storm," Timothy Bradley is a retired American professional boxer and current ESPN boxing analyst and commentator. He was a five-time world champion who won titles in light-welterweight and welterweight divisions.

A native of Palm Springs in Southern California, Bradley is best known for defeating legendary fighter Manny Pacquiao in a controversial bout in 2012. The Filipino pugilist would later avenge the defeat two times, costing Bradley his only two losses in his career.

Bradley is a vegan who is known for fasting and taking a strict plant-based diet before a fight. He said it helps keep his body cleansed and it keeps him in shape. He started the practice in 2008 upon the advice of his nutritionist.

In his first fight with Pacquiao, Bradley disclosed that he followed a vegan diet that consists mainly of fruits, tofu, nuts, and plenty of vegetables.

In an interview, Bradley pointed out that not eating meat makes him feel light and energetic. As a fighter, he said, it made him feel superior to any other warrior that he faced.

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Not eating meat, according to Bradley, allows him to save more energy because when someone eats meat, it takes the human body to consume more energy when breaking down the animal-based food.

Bradley also shared that the vegan diet makes him feel calm and clear-headed unlike when he's eating meat.

Bradley's career started in 2004 and officially ended in 2017 when he finally announced his retirement.

Since his boxing's debut, Bradly racked up 31 consecutive victories and grabbed the junior welterweight title by upsetting British boxer Junior Witter in 2008. Bradley said it was during his fight Witter that he started becoming a vegan.

After the Witter fight, Bradley would later claim the WBO light welterweight title by beating Kendall Holt in a title unification fight in 2009. He followed up this victory with two more wins in the same year against solid competitors Nate Campbell and Lamont Peterson.

Marking his debut fight in HBO television in 2010, Bradley fought and defeated Luis Carlos Abregu, a previously unbeaten Argentine boxer.

A year before his bout with Pacquaio, Bradley fought and defeated top welterweights Devon Alexander and Joel Casamayor.

Although still reeling from a career-shattering fan backlash from his victory against Pacquaio, Bradley suited up once again and engaged in an ultra-vicious fight against tough Russian fighter Ruslan Provodnikov. The fight, punctuated by knockdowns, was a complete brawl. While Bradley went home with the victory, both men endured a grueling 12-round ring war and they left the ring concussed, bruised, and battered. The hellacious nature of the bout earned it the consensus Fight of the Year in 2013.

Recuperated after the punishing fight with Provodnikov, Bradley entered the ring once again opposite Juan Manuel Marquez and defeated the legendary Mexican warrior via a split decision.

Already considered as one of the top ten best fighters in the world pound-for-pound, Bradley faced Pacquaio again in 2014 and suffered the second defeat in his career. Before the year ended, he earned a victory against Diego Gabriel Chaves.

In 2015, barely removed from his loss to Pacquio, Bradley recovered and outpointed Jesse Vargas and knocked out Brandon Rios to collect two decent victories. In the following year, Bradley capped his trilogy with Pacquiao, a fight he lost and the last bout in his storied career.

During the long hiatus after his last fight with the Filipino boxing icon, Bradley spent time as a boxing analyst and commentator. In 2017, he finally announced his retirement, explaining that watching a bloodied Pacquaio in a fight that he covered for ESPN in Australia finally convinced him that he's done taking the same punishment and walking out of the sport is the wisest thing to do.

David Haye Vegan Fighter

David Haye (28-4-0)

David Haye is multi-titlist British professional boxer who won championship belts in the cruiserweight and heavyweight divisions. Considered as one of England's best, Haye boasts of a  career that spans 16 years and marked with 32 ring wars, 28 victories, and only four losses.

Haye has been a vegan for years and is known for following a plant-based food diet while preparing for a fight. He said that it's where he gets his strength from and the diet simply makes him feel better and younger.

At one point, Haye claimed that meat being a better source of strength is a myth, saying that apes are plant-eaters and they are definitely twenty times stronger than humans. Although I will say, our genes are a little different than theirs. You won’t exactly get Gorilla strength from eating your veggies, but you can expect to have more endurance.

With some of the setbacks of his career caused by injuries, Haye said that his vegan diet helped him recover fast. Aptly, he stressed that his road to recovery always leads back to the plant-based diet.

Haye disclosed that he eats five meals a day and what's always in the table are beans, lentils, some rice or porridge, and plenty of split pea and quinoa. He would also take celery juice, sweet potatoes, bean stew, avocados, plantain, some protein shakes, and a good serving of vegetable and salad.

Haye grew up in the town of Bermondsey, a once rough industrial area in the London Borough of Southwark, England. He started boxing at the age of 10 and trained in the now famous Fitzroy Lodge amateur boxing club in Lambeth, South London, a proud charitable club that produced world champions like Haye, Dave Charnley, and Cornelius Boza-Edwards.

As an amateur boxer, David Haye held a record of 83 wins and 13 losses. He was a competitor in the 1999 World Amateur Boxing Championships, reached the qualifier bouts for the 2000 Sydney Olympics, and grabbed a silver medal in 2001 World Championships held in Belfast.

In 2002, David Haye turned pro and made an impressive fight debut by knocking out Tony Booth in the second round. From 2003 until 2006, he fought 18 times and won all fights either by knockout or technical knockout. Within that time-frame, only Belgian fighter Ismail Abdoul survived the distance.

In the same three-year period, Haye incurred his first defeat in the professional rank courtesy of then 40-year old Carl Thompson via technical knockout in a fight for the IBO world cruiserweight title. He would claim, however, the British Boxing Board of Control (BBBofC) English cruiserweight title and the EBU European Cruiserweight Title.

In 2007, Haye knocked out Tomasz Bonin, a highly ranked Polish contender at that time. And in an ambitious but career-defining move, Haye went on to fight tough French fighter Jean-Marc  Mormeck before the end of the year. The bout was a unification title fight with the WBA, WBC, and The Ring and lineal cruiserweight titles at stake. Haye floored and knocked out the Frenchman in the seventh round to earn all the titles and had staked his claim to become the best in the division.

In 2008, Haye fought and knocked out fellow British Enzo Maccarinelli in the second round to get the latter's WBO title and finally solidified his position as the undisputed cruiserweight champion of the world.

With no other best competitors to face in the cruiserweight division, Haye moved up in weight and debuted in the stacked heavyweight division by stopping Monte Barrett in the fifth round,

While Haye had an amazing run in the cruiserweight division, he is probably most remembered for his fights in the heavyweight class when he literally fought as David against the "Goliaths" of the division. 

An unnatural heavyweight as shown by his small size compared to his opponents, Haye slayed and outpointed the fearsome giant Nikolai Valuev to claim the WBA title in 2009, knocked down John Ruiz en route to a ninth-round TKO victory in 2010, and halted Audley Harrison in three rounds without breaking a sweat in the same year. But his disappointing loss in 2011 to another giant in Wladimir Klitschko also made a mark. In the following year, Haye stopped Derek Chisora in the fifth round in front of the raucous crowd of 40,000 fans in London. Which was a fight that carried with it al lot of bad blood, including a press conference brawl prior to, which Haye also won.

Haye took a hiatus after the Chisora fight and came back three years later in 2016 and knocked out Australian fighter Mark De Mori in the first round. He then fought and stopped Arnold 'The Cobra' Gjergjaj in the second round to cap a successful comeback year.

In 2017, David Haye lost to Tony Bellew and was defeated again in the rematch early this year. Due to recurring injuries, he finally decided to hang up the gloves and bow out of boxing after 16 years of a colorful and successful career in the sport.

cam awesome vegan boxer

Cam F. Awesome

If there's a thing about Cam Awesome, it's how he lives up to his name.

Awesome is a decorated American heavyweight amateur boxer and was a captain of the US boxing national team. He was a five-time USA boxing national champion, a four-time National Golden Gloves champion, a 2012 US Olympic team trial champion, a 2015 Pan-American Games bronze medalist, and a 2016 USA Boxing Elite national champion. He also fought in the Olympic qualifier tournaments and holds the athletic director position in the USA Boxing board of directors. 

Awesome is no doubt one of the most talented and accomplished amateur boxers in the US national team, but if there's anything that most would remember about him aside from the name and credentials, it would be his rebirth, or sort of, after a dark period in his career. 

In 2012, then still known as Lenroy Thompson, Awesome was banned by the U.S. Anti-Doping Agency (USADA) for not making himself available for the drug testing and failing to report his whereabouts prior to the Olympics qualifying tournament.

It was widely reported that the setback of the ban hit Awesome hard, pushing him to binge on fast food, constantly munching McDoubles, McChickens, and plenty of Chinese food. He admitted that his eating lifestyle was horrible and he gained a lot of weight. At that time, Awesome ballooned up to 270 pounds and spent time working as a personal trainer.

With his boxing career sidetracked, Awesome thought he would just stick to becoming a trainer. Until the irony hit him. There he was handing card to overweight clients asking them to trust him to keep them in shape when he himself needed some working out.

And then came his personal epiphany.

In an act of personal quest to redemption and to get out of the stigma of the USADA suspension, the Long Island New York-native ditched his birth-name and legally changed it to Cam F. Awesome. He also rededicated his life to boxing, and from then on, he turned to vegan diet as a show of personal commitment to clean living. 

In an interview with food coach Ami Mackey posted in the Daily Beet, Awesome shared that he was inspired to take the plant-based diet when he saw how a 45-year, 225-pound man with a knee brace he coached in his gym easily dropped weight in months and recovered and emerged with a shredded muscle, all thanks to a plant-based diet.

As a cancer-awareness advocate, Awesome also believes that plant-based foods can also actually prevent the development of certain types of cancers. 

In his personal blog, he confirmed that he finally decided not to eat meat and other animal products and that he was back in the competition as a motivated and re-energized man looking forward to making it to the 2016 Olympics Games. 

And yes, the renewed Awesome came back with a bang, declaring himself as the "Taylor Swift of boxing." He quickly dropped down to a fighting shape of 220 pounds and racked up wins after wins.

In the following years leading up to the Olympics, he retook his position as the best heavyweight talent in the national team. Although he won in the US Olympic team trials in 2015, he lost some fights and was eliminated in the qualifiers.

In 2016, Awesome, who is already a longtime resident of Kansas City, claimed his fifth USA Boxing national championship title at KCI Expo Center by beating Blake Davis in front of his adoring hometown fans.

Awesome also now dabbles in public speaking and stand-up comedy.

jon fitch vegan fighter

Jon Fitch (32-7-1-1 NC)

Jon Fitch or Jonathan Parker Fitch is a veteran MMA fighter based in San Jose, California and was a vegan since 2011. He joined the latest of MMA fighters who chose to turn to the plant-based diet.

Fitch was a former UFC title contender, former WSOF and PFL welterweight champion, and currently fights under the Bellator banner.

In the events leading up to Fitch's fight with B.J. Penn during the UFC 127, his being a vegan was actually pretty much part of the pre-fight discussions. From walking over 200 pounds, Fitch reportedly shredded his weight to just over 170 pounds.

MMA fighter Kenny Florian (now retired) aired what everybody seemed to be unfairly concerned about--that Fitch switching to a vegan diet just made him lose his weight advantage coming into the fight.

In response to the critics, Jon Fitch took the time to write and explain his newfound diet in the UFC 127 Fight Journal.

Jon Fitch said that the whole thing started for him as far back as 2009 when he was training for the fight against Paulo Thiago in the UFC 100. At the time, he decided to just eat organic food and saw tremendous results in his body.

Fitch claimed that by cutting down on meat, he found himself recovering quickly and getting more energized than before.

MMA fighters turning vegan is nothing new, but the stereotype against the diet seems to be deeply rooted. And Jon Fitch proved everyone wrong.

Although the highly competitive fight ended in a majority draw, both men scored takedowns in the first two rounds and both also recovered and stayed out of trouble. It was the third round, however, that seemed to make the difference as Jon Fitch showed to have gained control of the fight.

When the dust settled, two judges scored a 28-28 deadlock while the third gave it to Fitch at 29-28.

Fitch as a vegan was just as strong and tough as everybody in the fight game. As a fighter, he started in the light heavyweight and middleweight divisions before dropping down to the welterweight class when he entered UFC, a promotional outfit where he fought most of his fights in his career.

Fitch had an eight-fight winning streak since his entry into the UFC, tying  Royce Gracie's record. He could have surpassed Gracie when he fought Georges St-Pierre in 2008 for the UFC welterweight belt, but he lost the fight. 

Fitch stayed with the UFC for more than seven years, fought 18 times, and amassed a record of fourteen wins, three losses, and one draw. 

When he went 1-2-1 from 2011 up to 2013, having a draw with B.J. Penn, losing a fight to Johny Hendricks, winning against Erick Silva, and then losing again to Demian Maia, his UFC career looked in jeopardy. Although ranked ninth at the time in the welterweight division, Fitch was released by the organization.

On March 2013, Fitch signed up with the  World Series of Fighting where he lost his debut fight to Josh Burkman. He fought six times more for the WSOF from 2013 up to 2016. Along the way, he captured the vacant Welterweight Championship by beating João Zeferino and successfully defended it against Jake Shields.

In 2017, the WSOF rebranded itself as the PFL. Under the new banner, Fitch fought only once, winning the fight against Brian Forster. He finally left the promotion as a champion and signed an exclusive deal with Bellator just last March this year. Fitch made his Bellator fight debut last May with a win over Paul Daley.

Throughout his career, Jon Fitch faced some of the best in the sport, including Yushin Okami, Demian Maia, Georges St-Pierre, B.J. Penn, Thiago Alves, Erick Silva, Jake Shields, and Diego Sanchez among others.

herchel walker vegan fighter

Herschel Walker (2-2)

Herschel Walker's name is almost synonymous to his diet and numerous pursuits in life. A former professional football player turned MMA fighter, Walker has made quite an influence in the fitness world with his unorthodox dieting method.

Walker is a hulking athlete who typifies what dedication to fitness and training is all about. A known v, he expounded the extreme one-meal-a-day diet that consists of vegetable, soup, and bread, with over a thousand push-ups and sit-ups thrown into the mix. It pretty much sums up the Herschel Walker diet. For a man who was engaged in several rigorous sports, it is incredible that he's been doing it since he was still in college. That's more than 20 years!

As a football athlete, Walker has already cemented his legacy. In 1980, he led the University of Georgia (UGA) football team to the national championship. They have beaten opponents one by one and they remained undefeated all throughout the season. And the guy was just a freshman when he brought his team all the way down to the Sugar Bowl. For his amazing feats and athleticism, Walker was awarded the Heisman Trophy two years later. In 1999, he was finally inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame.

Walker's college football career was beyond remarkable. He left UGA as an all-American legend with a bunch of records, not only in his school but also in the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) and Southeastern Conference (SEC).

After his UGA days, he joined the United States Football League (USFL) and played for the New Jersey Generals. As expected of Walker, he set a few more records and even won the Most Valuable Player award in only his first season.

In 1986, he moved to the NFL and stayed in the league for 12 seasons. He played for the Dallas Cowboys, Philadelphia Eagles, and the New York Giants. He finally retired in 1997, leaving behind a remarkable career topped with amazing records.

Outside of football, Walker was also engaged in many excellent pursuits, and remarkably, he was always successful. While in college, he also dabbled in a track-and-field. While playing pro football, he was also part of the US bobsleigh team that saw action in the 1992 Winter Olympics. He even danced with the Fort Worth Ballet at least once.

Walker was also into martial arts. He is a fifth-degree black belter in taekwondo. As if his plate is not full enough, he also runs a Savannah-based company called Renaissance Man International.

In 2010, Walker made one of the incredible stories in MMA history. Fighting for the defunct promotion Strikeforce, he entered the cage at the age of 47 and knocked out Greg Nagy in the third round. He fought again in 2011 and stopped Scott Carson in the first round.

Its Not the Diet, It’s the Mindset

While the flawed notion that the vegan diet makes one weak would not go away soon, the appreciation of its benefits by many successful professional fighters and athletes dispels the deeply misguided stereotypes.

The rise of these tough men on top of their respective sports effectively smashes the walls built on fears and misconceptions about plant based diets.

Through the years, more people are ditching meat on their dinner tables. And while opinions will stay divided and some issues can still be polarizing at times in many ways, the truth remains that meat is not the only source strength and skills topped with a warrior mindset are much more important.  What a plant based diet will help you with, however, is being overall healthier in your training.

Drop me a comment below and let me know what you think.

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