Walt Harris hopes to return to the Octagon in April

UFC heavyweight contender Walt Harris hopes to return to the Octagon in April following the shocking murder of his daughter Aniah Blanchard in October.

According to a report from MMAjunkie.com, Harris would like to return to active competition this spring, though an opponent has not been finalized yet.

Harris was set to fight Alistair Overeem in the main event of UFC Washington, D.C. in what would have been the highest-profile fight of his career. However, after the body of Blanchard was found following her kidnapping and disappearance, Harris was understandably forced to withdraw from the Overeem fight to grieve and be with his family at a time of need.

Prior to that, Harris was riding a four-fight unbeaten streak with back-to-back knockout wins over Aleksei Oleinik and Sergey Spivak in his last two fights, plus a No Contest to Andrei Arlovski and a knockout win over Daniel Spitz during that timeframe.

Harris overall holds a 13-7, 1 NC record in his pro MMA career. He has a 6-6, 1 NC record over two stints in the Octagon. After going 0-2 in his first stint in the UFC back in late 2013 to early 2014, Harris is 6-4, 1 NC during his second stint in the Octagon dating back to late 2014. After looking like mostly a gatekeeper during his UFC run, Harris appears to have turned the corner and appears to be a top contender now.

Harris is currently the No. 9 ranked heavyweight in the UFC. No. 8 is Overeem, so it’s possible the UFC could re-book the fight between them again. Alexander Volkov is the No. 7 ranked heavyweight and could also potentially be an opponent for Harris. Regardless of who he fights next, it’s great to see that Harris has started training again and hopefully 2020 is a better year for him and his family than 2019 was.

Who would you like the UFC to match up Walt Harris against in his return to the Octagon?