Like Ronda Rousey's armbars, Valter Walker plans to heel hook way to UFC gold

Valter Walker sees no reason why he can't emulate Ronda Rousey's path to UFC gold.

UFC Hall of Famer Rousey snatched up opponents' arms left and right, making the armbar her signature finish. UFC heavyweight Walker (15-1 MMA, 4-1 UFC) has fallen in love with hooking the heels of his opposition, making it his own signature submission.

"Before, I did that in the gym, but when you do that in UFC, the first time, this give me a lot of confidence in myself, in this skill," Walker told UFC.com. "I started training this one more in the gym, and believe more – and when I do more in the fighting, I believe more in myself, you know? This give me a lot of confidence in this move. I started it from everywhere."

Walker has tapped four consecutive opponents with a heel hook submission, each in the first round. It started with Junior Tafa, and then after he hit it on Don'Tale Mayes, it became clear that heel hooks are now his thing. Then he hit it a third time, tapping Kennedy Nzechukwu. It's a rare submission to hit in MMA these days, much less at heavyweight, yet Walker keeps finding ways to pull it off.

At UFC Fight Night 282, which takes place at Etihad Arena in Abu Dhabi, Walker will have the chance to make it five heel hooks in a row when he takes on Thomas Petersen. Walker admits he didn't think he would be able to pull it off against his last opponent, Louie Sutherland, for No. 4, but his coaches told him to go for it, and it worked.

Now fully confident in his ability to find the ankle, Walker sees no reason why he can't rip off a crazy run of eight straight, like Rousey once did in her career with armbars.

"You know, people talk (like) it's the first time – yeah, it's the first time in heavyweight do that," Walker said. "If you come back long time, you see Ronda Rousey. She made eight armlocks in a row and became a champion. Why not me? Why I cannot do the same?

"... My last fight, I don't really believe I could do that. My coach said, 'Hey, try. Try do this again.' I try, and it happens. If Ronda Rousey make this eight times, why I cannot do this too? Maybe six, seven times. I'll try."

This article originally appeared on MMA Junkie: Like Ronda Rousey's armbars, Valter Walker plans to heel hook way to UFC gold