Titan FC 30's Dave Herman: Weightlifting my lone training outlet for Walt Harris

Dave Herman‘s MMA training methods may come across as dumbfounding to most, but to him, they’re perfectly normal.

Herman (22-6) meets Walt Harris (7-3) at Titan FC 30 on Sept. 26 in Cedar Park, Texas. The event takes place at Cedar Park Center and airs on CBS Sports Network.

Most fighters would takea co-main-event slot extremely seriously, but Herman said he’s spent absolutely zero time in a traditional MMA training environment. Instead, he insists he’s purely hit the weight rack in attempt to bulk up for his physically larger opponent.

“I’ve done a lot of lifting,” Herman told MMAjunkie of his preparation for Harris. “This guy’s a little bigger, so I’m trying to bulk up a little. My last fight (a decision win over Kalib Starnes at Titan FC 28), I pretty much just ran. So this fight, while I probably should still continue to run, I’ve just lifted weights.”

Herman claims he’s done no sparring or grappling training for the past year. It’s purely out of choice, he said, particularly because he doesn’t have a gym that’s convenient enough to make the effort.

“I have other stuff going on,” Herman said. “I don’t really have a place I can go to spar or anything. I’m not trying to go to a gym everywhere. This is fine.”

The 29-year-old’s unique methods have produced mixed success through his career. He’s just 1-4 in his past five fights, with all of those losses coming under the UFC banner to familiar names in Gabriel Gonzaga, Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira, Roy Nelson and Stefan Struve. The world’s premier MMA organization released him in July 2013, which ultimately led to his current Titan FC deal.

He got back on track with his unanimous-decision victory over Starnes. He expects the same results against Harris.

“I haven’t really thought about (the fight) other than winning,” Herman said. “He’s pretty big, strong and dangerous. Anything’s possible.”

While his apparent lack of actual fight preparation is potentially worrisome, Herman has no concerns about performance going into the 29th fight of his pro career. His hands-off approach has led him to victory far more often than defeat, and he doesn’t anticipate a change now.

Herman looks to improve to 2-0 in his post-UFC career, and while his level of dedication to the sport appears to have dropped off from an outsider’s perspective, “Pee Wee” still has aspirations of one day making it back to the octagon. To get there, though, he knows he must get through Harris.

“I wouldn’t mind (going back to UFC),” Herman said. “If I get an offer, I’ll take it, but we’ll see what happens. I’m not really worried about it. The only thing that really matters is what happens in the cage.”

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