Heath Herring
Biofiles | Published March 8th, 2008
 Status: UFC heavyweight contender.
Ht: 6-4 Wt: 250
Born On: March 2, 1978 In: Waco, Texas
Childhood Hero: The Hulk.
Hobbies/Interests: Computers, hunting, fishing, camping.
Nickname: Texas Crazy Horse.
Favorite Movies: The Goonies, Gladiator, Young Guns I, II.
All-Time Favorite TV Shows: King of the Hill, The A-Team, Thundercats.
Musical Tastes: Country, rock. Country music - I love Johnny Cash and pretty much any of the old classics. As far as rock music goes, I like it all about the same.
Early Fighting Memory: My first fight was in Amarillo, Texas. An Eight-man tournament. I’d seen fights before on videotape but this was my first time fighting. Summer of ‘96, I had just graduated high school. The fights were held at an indoor rodeo arena. Pretty wild. I didn’t know what to expect. I ended up getting to the finals. I fought Paul Jones in the final - he had been in the UFC. The rules allowed rope escapes. He got me in a choke at the end of the fight. My mom and dad were there. They were like, You did pretty good, you should keep doing it. So that’s my start in fighting.
Pre-Fight Feeling: Always a little nervous. Of course, I’ve been fighting a lot…the nerves aren’t as bad they used to be. I try to get the adrenaline rush. To me it matters a lot if the fans are really into it. When I walk to the ring, if they’re loud and cheering, it pumps me up. I hate going into a flat crowd. I like an excited crowd. That makes a big difference to me. It helps me a lot.
Funny Fighting Memory: Tons of stuff. I remember the funniest thing I saw was on videotape, a Bas Rutten Invitational in Colorado. Some guy got hit in the face and fell down and you could see all the socks stuffed in his cup [smiles].
Favorite Meal: Steaks. Mexican food.
Favorite Breakfast Cereal: It’s a Dutch thing - strawberry yogurt and Crueslix.
Favorite Ice Cream Flavor: Cherry.
First Job: Working for my grandad (Boyce Box) at his mobile home park, doing odd jobs and using the yo-yo weed eater.
First Car: 1978 cream-colored Ford LTD.
Greatest Sports Moment: Probably when I beat Tom Erikson in Pride. Well, there’s been a lot of them. Fighting Noguiera for the belt in the Tokyo Dome. That was awesome. I learned I’m a lot better on the ground than I thought I was - getting out of all his holds. But he’s a lot better boxer than I thought he was. But the win over Tom Erikson is probably the most important of my career. It’s where everybody took notice of me. I proved I needed to be there (in Pride). He hasn’t lost since. I caught him with a high kick and was able to choke him out. That was about two years ago.
Most Painful Moment: Any time I lose [laughs]. Losing the fight with Fedor was bad. I just don’t like losing, man. When the doctor told me I couldn’t go on.
Worst Injury: I’ve been lucky. The Lord’s blessed me. I’ve just had a few cuts and bruises, that’s it.
Favorite Fighters To Watch: I don’t really have anybody in particular. I like everyone that’s aggressive, that pushes their opponents to fight. I like action-packed fighters. I don’t like to watch passive fighters who lay around a lot.
Favorite Fights: Oh man, lots of fights. The first Royce Gracie-Sakuraba was a great fight to see.
Closest Friends From Fighting: Almost all the guys in Pride. Nogueria - he’s a good guy. We go out. We hang out with the Brazilians after the fights. They follow us because they think the party’s with us [laughs]. But I don’t want to tell any stories about myself [smiles].
Funniest Fighters: Renzo Gracie is funny. He’s always got a smile and a joke. Bob Sapp - he’s a good guy, if you get him alone a bit.
Favorite Vacation Spot: Mexico.
People Qualities Most Admired: Friendly and trustworthy. Where their word means something. I think those are the most important qualities for me.
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