Valter Walker is no longer just another submission specialist on the UFC roster.
After securing his fourth straight heel hook finish in October against Louie Sutherland, the Brazilian has carved out one of the most terrifying reputations in the division.
Heel hooks are not rare in modern MMA, but Walker’s ability to land them again and again has baffled fans and fighters alike.
According to Walker’s interview with MMA Fighting, the difference isn’t technical.
It’s psychological:
The secret of the heel hook, I’ll tell you now – I see many guys in the UFC try to do the heel hook and it don’t work. Why?
Because they take the heel hook, first they don’t believe this is going to work and second, they [want] their opponent to tap.
When I go for the heel hook, I go for (the) break.I don’t go for my opponent to tap.
That mindset defines every attempt he makes:
If you see my face, every time when I take the heel hook, my face, I’m doing a lot of power.
Because I’m trying to break his leg.
Because if my opponent doesn’t tap, the leg is going to break.
Walker insists he feels the joints give way almost every time:
Every time, when I (grab the heel hook), I feel the knee crack and the foot crack.
The last four fights, I feel everybody’s foot crack. Because I go for broke.
This is the secret.
His coach reinforces that ruthlessness in competition:
I don’t think about making you tap.
I think about breaking your leg.My coach tells me all the time, don’t go for tap, go for broke…
In the fight, I do it and you see how it works.
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