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Former NCAA and NFL great Herschel Walker has signed a multi-fight deal with Strikeforce.

The signing was first reported by AOL FanHouse, which confirmed the deal with Strikeforce executive Mike Afromowitz.

No debut date has been set for the 47-year-old former Heisman Trophy winner and two-time Pro Bowl running back, who's never competed professionally in mixed martial arts.

Herschel, a longtime martial artist and sixth-degree black belt in tae kwon do, has hinted at a possible move into MMA for the past few years. He's also been spotted at many MMA events and even was announced as part of an EliteXC/Mark Burnett reality show that never got off the ground.

Herschel wouldn't be the first NFL vet to compete in MMA, though the former Dallas Cowboy certainly would be one of the most known (and oldest). Four former NFL players were cast for the current 10th season of "The Ultimate Fighter," and others such as Michael Westbrook, Rex Richards and Herbert "Whisper" Goodman have competed in organizations across the country.

Walker's Strikeforce debut will likely come in 2010, according to the report.

High 5 wrote:In his prime he was more a freak of nature than anyone in MMA history other than Brock Lesnar.

I hope for his sake (and as a Georgia fan) he still has some of that insane athleticism.

UFC President Dana White says he's outraged that Strikeforce has signed former football star Herschel Walker to make his MMA debut at age 47, and he ripped Strikeforce's TV partner, Showtime, for engaging in a gimmick that makes the sport look bad.

"I think it's ridiculous," White told Mike Chiappetta on the Inside The Ultimate Fighter podcast. "People think we're anti-competition? We're anti-dumb competition. Doing stupid things like this, putting a 50-year-old guy in the Octagon for the first time, and then going out there putting out press releases like it's a big deal because you signed a 50-year-old Herschel Walker? Are you serious?"

White suggested that Strikeforce's partnership with Showtime has changed the way it does business, for the worse.

"Strikeforce is a small, little, regional show," White said. "The geniuses over at Showtime, these guys are the most arrogant, cocky, pompous jackasses I've ever met in my whole life."

Noting that Walker has no experience as a fighter, White questioned whether a suitable opponent could be found for him, and he questioned whether the fight would be sanctioned at all.

"Which athletic commission is going to let this guy fight?" White asked. "Who the f**k are they going to find to fight Herschel Walker? A guy in a wheelchair?"

In reality, athletic commissions sanction fighters with no experience all the time: Everyone has to start with an 0-0 record. And while it's true that not many of those fighters are 47 years old, not many of them are world-class athletes, either. If Strikeforce wants to make the Walker fight happen, it can find a sanctioning body and an opponent to make it happen.

But that doesn't mean White has to like it. Said White of Strikeforce's decision to put Walker in the cage, "It's completely disrespectful to the sport."