LAS VEGAS – Walt Harris knows why he fought in the wake of family tragedy, but he also attributes the mental taxation of his loss outside the cage to his defeats inside of it.

On Saturday, Harris (13-9 MMA, 6-7 UFC) steps into the cage for the first time in 2021, when he takes on Marcin Tybura (21-6 MMA, 8-5 UFC) at UFC Fight Night 189. He’s lost back-to-back fights and is eager to prove he’s still one of the best heavyweights in the world.

“I want to show people that you can go through the worst thing you ever been through in your life, and you can keep going and going and chasing your dreams,” Harris told MMA Junkie at a pre-fight media day Wednesday. “I feel like that’s my purpose.”

In late 2019, Harris’ stepdaughter, Aniah Blanchard, was kidnapped and murdered in Alabama. Seven months later, Harris stepped into his first UFC main event. After some early success, he was finished with strikes by Alistair Overeem. Five months later, he was finished with strikes again by Alexander Volkov.

In retrospect, Harris recognizes that fighting was an escape from his difficulties. While he doesn’t regret competing at a challenging time in his life, he thinks the form fans will see him in Saturday will be a level up from his 2020 self.

“I honestly feel like, in hindsight, I probably shouldn’t have been fighting, you know what I mean?” Harris said. “But I was running away from the pain, you know, all the things that we were going through, and our life was an absolute whirlwind at that time. So fighting has always been a refuge for me. It’s always been a place where I can, you know, dive in and get beat up, enjoy it, and I leave feeling better, like a better person. So that’s kind of why I got into the whole like, ‘Let’s fight again.’

“But honestly, Saturday night should probably be my actual return because I’m mentally healthy, physically healthy, man. I feel amazing, and I busted my tail for this, so I’m excited to get in and show you guys what I’ve been working on.”

Part of Harris’ mental rebound and newfound energy stems from his accomplishments outside of the cage. In the wake of Blanchard’s death, Harris tried to use his circumstances to create a positive change in his community. Leading the charge with his wife, Angela, Harris has worked to pass Aniah’s Law, a bill that would allow those suspected of committing violent crimes to be held without bail.

The progress has been promising, thus far. Harris revealed the bill has gone to the Senate after a unanimous vote to get it there. He’s also helped launch Aniah’s Heart, a charity committed to assisting families and law enforcement locate missing persons.

“It went to the Senate, so they’re voting on that,” Harris said. “It went unanimous, which is absolutely amazing in the state of Alabama. Nobody opposed it. It was a blessing to see that go through. And we also launched our nonprofit for our daughter called Aniah’s Heart. … It basically focuses on helping families and being a buffer between the family and law enforcement in those times of need when they’re missing a loved one.

“We do search and recovery, as well. And I don’t want to quote it wrong, but I believe we recovered 10 people so far. It’s just been, you know, a way to help other people. Man, I think that’s what I’ve gotten out of this last year, to try to be a better person and help other people not deal with what we dealt with.”

UFC Fight Night 189 takes place Saturday at the UFC Apex. The main card streams on ESPN+.