Herring Taking Some Time for Himself

UFC heavyweight Heath Herring has told MMAWeekly that he will be taking some time off to focus on both family and some professional matters.

"The Texas Crazy Horse" has already fought three UFC matches since January (lost to Jake O'Brien, beat Brad Imes, lost to Rodrigo Nogueira) and has decided to stay out of the Octagon for a little while to spend time with his family and to also find a new training camp.

Most recently, Herring fought Rodrigo Nogueira in the Brazilian's UFC debut and nearly scored a first-round stoppage win after a well-placed kick to Nogueira's jaw. Since then, Herring has traveled to Afghanistan for two weeks to visit U.S. troops (along with fellow UFC fighters Jorge Rivera and Kenny Florian) and is now dedicated to spending time with his family.

"The UFC already called me about maybe [fighting] in October, and I just need to take some personal time. I’m just trying to catch up and do some family things right now, and I need to find a good fight camp so I’ve got nothing really scheduled right now," Herring told MMAWeekly.

I was very impressed with Herring after his UFC 73 fight with Nogueira, and his return to the UFC heavyweight ranks should only bolster an already potent class. I just hope that he doesn't stay out too long; after all, the old "out of sight, out of mind" phenomenon seems to have set in with Brandon Vera.